Lorem Ipsum vs. Greeking vs. Real Draft Copy: When to Use Which
Lorem Ipsum works well for an early- to mid-stage layout review, giving a realistic sense of text length and word/sentence rhythm without distracting real content; greeking (abstract blocky shapes standing in for text) is best for the very earliest, roughest layout sketches, where even Lorem Ipsum's Latin-like text is more detail than needed yet; real draft copy, even if not fully final, is best once a layout is far enough along that actual wording, tone, and length need to be judged directly rather than approximated.
Each of these three approaches trades off a different amount of realism against a different amount of distraction from the specific thing being evaluated at that stage.
Why greeking suits the earliest rough sketches
At the very beginning of a layout, before typography or exact text length matters yet, greeking's abstract shapes convey "there will be text here, roughly this much of it" without inviting any scrutiny of actual wording, letter spacing, or line breaks — details that are premature to evaluate at that rough sketching stage.
Why real draft copy eventually becomes necessary
As a design matures, decisions like heading length, tone, and how content actually flows within a layout depend on the real words themselves, not just their approximate length — at that point, continuing to use placeholder text risks the final layout not actually working once real content is dropped in, which is why draft (even if not fully final) real copy typically replaces Lorem Ipsum before a design ships.