Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
ALTHOUGH THE DESIGNER
has set this topic text on a wide paragraph, she has decided to limit
the rag activity. The soft rag keeps the page quiet in general, and it strives not to detract from the
indents that define the beginnings of paragraphs.
Cheng Design
United States
Exploring the Ragged Edge
The rag of a paragraph might range from deep to shallow
and active to subtle, but its uniformity and consistency from the top of a paragraph
down to the bottom are what make it desirable. The ragged line endings are considered
optimal if they create an organic, unforced “ripple” down the edge of the paragraph,
without pronounced indents or bulges. In an optimally ragged paragraph, the rag be-
comes invisible: the reader is never aware that the lines are ending at their natural con-
clusion. If the alternating lines end short and very long, the rag becomes active and calls
attention to itself, distracting the reader from following the content of the text. That
said, a deep rag is acceptable if it remains consistent throughout the text. A designer
might opt to mitigate a deep rag by introducing more interline space. What is nev-
er desirable, however, is a rag that begins at the outset of a paragraph guided by one
kind of logic but transforms into another kind of logic as the paragraph progresses in
depth; a rag that shows excessive indenting from the right; or sharp, angular inclusions
of space created by lines that become sequentially shorter. The overall unity of a rag can
be easily compromised by the single occurrence of two short lines that create a boxy
hole. In an optimal rag, the depth hovers between one-fifth and one-seventh of the para-
graph's width. Word order and word breaks across lines also affect the rag. Problems
in ragged-right setting commonly arise when a series of short words—of, at, it, to, we,
us—are broken to align at the left edge, creating a vertical river running parallel to the
aligned edge; and when short words appear at the end of a long line between two shorter
