When should center align paragraph text be used?

Question

From Why You Should Never Center Align Paragraph Text:

Left aligned text is easier to read than centered text for paragraphs. This is because when you center your text, the starting place of each line changes. This forces your users to work harder to find where each line begins to continue reading. Without a straight left edge, there is no consistent place where users can move their eyes to when they complete each line.

I wonder if there is any case where there exist compelling reasons to use center aligned text for paragraphs? That is, the advantages of X can overcome the disadvantage of having no consistent place for readers to move their eyes. What is X?

For example, should the text below be center aligned? The image on the left seems to reinforce any asymmetry of the right area. So the center aligned text will be more aesthetic than the left aligned text?

_{Related: How does unobviously uneven spaces between words in justified text affect reading?}

Answer 1

In my opinion...

Never

Center aligning is fine for headlines, sub-headlines, captions, figures, etc. However, for paragraphs there's never a reason for line-for-line centering.

Line-for-line centering creates a "wobble" - a "hula dance" of a shape - that is unstable and unbalanced.

For me, full justification isn't much better but it is better than line-for-line centering. Full justification at least prevents an unstable and unbalanced impression.

Best case is left-justified paragraphs, no matter what the paragraph text contains.

The only exception for line-for-line centering, beyond headlines, I can fathom is callouts. In some cases, centering callouts can aide a design rather than detract from it. Primarily because it's an offset and meant to be a visual disruptor of a sort.

Example...

Answer 2

Wedding invitations. Some greeting cards. Very formal, very brief pieces of text. Some poster and advertising headlines.

Centered or "center justified" or "ragged-center" text is very hard to read. It immediately gives a feeling of formality or poetic embellishment.

That said, many large format pieces, signs and ads use a few words centered on an image or page. But that is not the same as a large block of text being set centered.

Answer 3

Unlike many of the folks in here, I'm not a professional graphic designer, so my opinion is my own & may not be shared by all.

imo, centre-justified always looks like a school disco poster or a church jumble sale advert… i.e. amateur.
For almost any newspaper column-style text, I would always go for fully-justified & hyphenated. The variable gaps, to me, are less distracting than uneven edges. On such short lines, left justified looks ragged & I always consider right-justified to have a special place, but this is not it.

For balance, here's the same thing justified four ways - full, centre, left, right.

Looking at them all here after I've finished, I'd have gone with a bit more margin if I'd thought it through properly.

Answer 4

I'm no professional designer, but I'd use these criteria pro centering text lines:

• If the lines are rather short and there are only a few of them, like in poetry using 4-line verses.
• If you want the reader to spend time on the lines (call it "enjoy" them)

So maybe: If you "put a lot" into "a few" lines, centering may give the lines the attention they deserve.