SANJIESAN CREATOR / Illustration captions
Space a short caption so it does not become a paragraph
A two-line caption may accidentally look attached to the paragraph above it, even when both are individually readable. Adobe’s spacing reference defines leading as the distance between text baselines. Use that internal spacing as one decision, then inspect the caption’s external relationship with its illustration and neighbouring text separately.
Identify the thing the caption explains
Use an original diagram with one illustration, a short caption and a nearby paragraph. State which object the caption belongs to. Cover the words briefly and inspect the grouping created by placement alone. If the caption seems closer to the paragraph than the image, the association may be unclear before anyone reads it. Solve that relationship without changing the caption’s meaning or adding a decorative arrow as the first response.
Adjust the two kinds of space separately
Keep the caption’s text size constant while comparing its internal line spacing. Look for a readable two-line unit. Then move that unit relative to the image and paragraph without changing its internal rhythm again. Increasing leading to create separation from another paragraph can make the caption itself look broken. Conversely, reducing the gap between image and caption should not force its lines to collide. Treat each change as a different layout question.
Inspect the smallest required layout
Review the full diagram at its intended smallest size and, if needed, in a narrow alternate frame. Check whether the caption remains grouped with the correct object and whether its second line can still be read comfortably. If space is insufficient, revise the layout or the wording with its meaning intact. Keep the caption in an editable form so the next language or image revision can be assessed as a real layout change.