I’ve avoided `text-align: justify` for years. Do modern #CSS properties unlock its potential? cloudfour.com/thinks/justi... #Typography #WebDesign #WebDev - ThreadSky

tylersticka.com • 44 days ago

I’ve avoided `text-align: justify` for years. Do modern #CSS properties unlock its potential? https://cloudfour.com/thinks/justified-text-better-than-expected/

#Typography #WebDesign #WebDev

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tylersticka.com•44 days ago

Linked in this article:

- @knowler.dev (inspiration)
- @jasonsantamaria.bsky.social & Matthew Butterick (type expertise)
- @seaotta.dev & @ishadeed.com (balanced text overviews)
- @cloudfour.com’s Paul & Aileen (testing, discussion and review)
- @gutenberg.org (public domain works)

tylersticka.com•44 days ago

Revised the conclusion a bit thanks to feedback from several people regarding accessibility. Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow!

tbroyer.ltgt.net•44 days ago

I thought justified text was bad because uneven word spacing can make it harder to read for some people?

tylersticka.com•44 days ago

It can be. Good hyphenation is critical to avoid noticeable gaps between words. Historically, browsers have been bad at this in comparison to page layout and desktop publishing software. Some newer CSS rules prompted reexamination, hence the article.

ashleemboyer.com•44 days ago

Great read! Where you said "when a design truly calls for finite, justified blocks of expressive typography" do you have examples? Genuine curiosity ☺️

tylersticka.com•44 days ago

Sure!

A recent example that immediately comes to mind: https://henry.codes by @strange.website

Henry’s articles are left-aligned, which makes sense: They’re long-form, easiest to read, content > design.

But there’s a ton of typographic playfulness in headings, lists, intros, etc. along the way.

heltweg.org•44 days ago

Nice article, thanks for writing it! I really liked the chrome/safari comparison slider :).

tylersticka.com•44 days ago

Thanks, Philip! That part was easy thanks to one of our web components: https://cloudfour.com/thinks/building-an-accessible-image-comparison-web-component/

heltweg.org•44 days ago

A really cool, web components rock 😅.

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