On the Legibility of Justified Text: A Short Review

Justified setting is either the mark of care or the cause of rivers, depending on whom you ask. This note surveys what the literature actually measures, and where the folklore exceeds the data.

The case against

Early studies on reading speed found that poorly justified text — fixed word spacing, no hyphenation — slows readers measurably, with the effect concentrated in narrow measures. The mechanism is uncontroversial: irregular spacing disturbs saccade planning.

The case for

The same literature is quieter on well-set justification. With hyphenation enabled and a measure above roughly fifty characters, differences shrink toward noise. Aesthetic preference, however, consistently favours the even block for long-form reading, an effect that compounds with reader age.

What this garden does

Hyphenation on, measure controlled, last line ragged. The compromise is centuries old because it works.

Further reading

The footnotes of any Bringhurst edition will outlast this note. See also typography-that-welcomes-everyone on when justification should simply be turned off.