063: Thou shall set the second line of a paragraph longer than the first

Commentary Once we start walking, we definitely appreciate some forward progress. Any step that has to be retraced, even if it’s a half-step pause, is wasted motion. When we read, it’s the same quality that takes over, and once we get going, it’s hard to stop us on our stroll toward comprehension. That is why we like to have the second line of a paragraph set longer than the first. The indented white space, if it is shorter, gives us pause. Creating this is a combination of selective line breaks and tracking as needed. Ragging our copy is an art form in its own right. It is important to note that this should not take precedence over other hard rules of typography (don’t end the second line with a dangling “a” or “it” or track out +60 just to make it....JF