Yes, centering text is like running with scissors.
At least for designers learning the basics. Let me explain.
Picture this. You’re 5 years old again, and you’re running around the house with a pair of open pointy scissors, screaming with the glee of impending disaster.
Not great, right? Your parental units might’ve had a thing or two to say about that.
Minus the concern for actual physical harm, this sense of dread is similar to what design teachers feel when they see you barfing up centered text like a freshman at Mardi Gras.
Kids shouldn’t run with scissors. It usually ends bad.
Centering Text as a Learning Designer
As a teacher, letting students constantly center text without would be throwing caution and reason out the window (“Hey kid, run with these scissors!”). Most emerging designers don’t have the experience or judgement to execute it convincingly and with moderation. At least not yet.
“Hey kid, run with these scissors!”
So, when it comes to scissors and children, our society collectively puts a stop to running with them altogether.
Then, as the kids eventually get older, we slow our careful monitoring and eventually stop altogether. For adults, there’s rarely a need to run with scissors, but we’re all welcome to use our best judgement should an occasion arise.
Yes, running with scissors is often a questionable idea regardless, but for every rule there are emergencies and exceptions. The same goes for centering text. You see where I’m going with this?
Who knew road signs and emergency tracheotomies had something in common?!
With scissors, as with centered text, time-earned experience is the difference maker. It’s what helps us make a judgement call.
So as you learn design basics, do yourself (and your teachers) a favor. Just void centering text altogether. You’ll live. Actually, by challenging yourself with this constraint, you’ll become even better.
As you continue to gain more experience, you’ll learn the optimal times and places for using your centered text. Once you get there, you’ll l have earned the right to make judgment calls for yourself.
Then you’ll be the one complaining to rookie designers.