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I've done this a hundred times, but this time I worry I am overthinking it! This clients company name happens to be two words of similar width. The second word slightly wider, and it's confusing me as to the best strapline size and placement.

See below four versions, all of which have faults to my eyes. We can eliminate the fourth of course as "silly", but the first the tagline is somewhat small (relative to the wordmark) and the second two suffer from obvious "alignments" with the start and end of words.

Does this have to be done by eye, or is there some kind of grid, or ratio that might steer me in the right direction and break through my block?

enter image description here

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    I think this sort of thing has to be aligned with the final copy in place so it's hard to say.
    – Zach Saucier
    Dec 2, 2019 at 17:54
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    I agree with @ZachSaucier - this is difficult to answer without seeing how this is going to be used on a page. Also, it's very subjective. There's rarely any right or wrong in such questions.
    – Billy Kerr
    Dec 2, 2019 at 18:11
  • I was worried about it being a subjective question. But in essence, that WAS my question - I am asking is this ONLY subjective, or are their rules that can be followed. That's the question
    – mayersdesign
    Dec 2, 2019 at 19:35
  • @mayersdesign - that's what I am saying - it is subjective, there's no right or wrong way. It might be less subjective if you were to mention how are you going to use this word mark and tagline, in what context, where it will appear on the page, at what size, etc.
    – Billy Kerr
    Dec 3, 2019 at 9:04
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    @BillyKerr Following your comment, the entire graphic design is somewhat subjective and none of the questions asked on this site would make sense except those that deal with "how to do something in a graphic application".
    – user120647
    Dec 3, 2019 at 9:25

1 Answer 1

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I don't think there are formulas, but some perception theory can help.

Placing some basic shapes on a baseline, this is interpreted as a horizon where the shapes are supported:

Basic Shapes

The ones that offer the greatest firmness are those which have two support axes perpendicular to the baseline: square or rectangle. These support axes generate some structural lines.

In the case raised in the question there is another element: the text alignment, which creates a third visual component and the problem is where to stop it to create a balanced composition.

Pushing line

By combining the example of the basic shapes and their structural axes with the thrust of the bottom line, we can establish different levels of force.

Right to left

This is much more understandable by contrast, changing the lower line direction. From left to right these levels totally change and the weakest disappear (would be the case of A, O or V central axes).

Left to Right

From there everything depends on the design guidelines. Personally I would choose one of the strongest structural support axes:

  • The wall that separates the I from the W

or

  • The second L to break the LL sequence

enter image description here

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    Those are excellent insights, thanks very much
    – mayersdesign
    Dec 2, 2019 at 19:36
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    This answered my question in so much as I don't think the placement is purely subjective. There are some guidelines and concepts which can be followed to indicate the best placement.
    – mayersdesign
    Dec 3, 2019 at 9:16
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    To me it's a very objective question that allows a very specific answer. In my opinion there are many misconceptions about the questions, I have already dealt with this several times and I consider it as something lost. The "too broad" wildcard is applied with extreme ease
    – user120647
    Dec 3, 2019 at 10:11

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