There are four general types of alignment used for text in designs; left aligned, right aligned, centered, and justified. Left aligned text starts each line of text in the same horizontal position so that the left side is straight and the right side is ragged. Right aligned text follows the reverse rule of left aligned text so that the right side of the text block is straight. Centered text fits the maximum amount of words on a line and then continues onto the next with ragged edges on both sides. Justified text uses different amounts of space between words and letters to make the left and right side of the text straight regardless of how much text is on each line.

Left aligned text is the most common alignment since it provides an easy starting point of each line for the viewer. The viewer can easily jump to the next line without having to think about where their eyes should go.

Right aligned text is mainly used for decorative purposes with smaller amounts of text. Since each line starts in a different position it can become frustrating for a viewer to move from one line to the next.

Centered text is most commonly used for small amounts of text that does not contain manly lines. Text that is centered establishes its importance easily and the equal margins provides visual harmony.

Justified alignment is mostly used when there's lots of information to relate, such as in books, magazines, and newspapers. Justified text makes efficient use of space, but it leads to lots of hyphenated words and inconsistent spacing which is not ideal for many graphic design purposes.