What is optical alignment?

Optical alignment in design refers to aligning objects based on how they look instead of a mathematical line. This means that margins can be slightly different values, even though the objects appear perfectly aligned to your eyes. Optical alignment is often used on asymmetrical shapes and text.

In the example below, the left image shows the magnifying glass centered mathematically in the box with no optical alignment. All of the margins are the same, but it appears to be closer to the left and bottom sides. The right image shows the magnifying glass optically aligned. The margins are different, but it appears to be in the center of the box.

Optical margin alignment is especially helpful when designing for smaller printed products like business cards, bookmarks, and hang tags. These smaller products will show perceived misalignment more obviously than large products like posters. Take extra caution and consider using optical alignment next time you are centering objects in a design.