Portrait orientation refers to the vertical design or layout of an image, document, or device. A page with portrait orientation typically letters, memos, and other text-based documents is taller than it is wide. This aspect ratio is also ideal for visual art that depicts a person from the chest up, which is why it is called portrait orientation. Landscape orientation, on the other hand, is wider than it is tall so it’s best for depicting visual elements that are spread out horizontally, like panoramas and environmental scenery.
Portrait orientation in devices
Whereas landscape orientation is most commonly used in computer and television displays, portrait orientation is the default setting for printers and mobile devices. Smartphones, e-readers, and tablets are optimized for portrait orientation, so most mobile apps are designed with portrait orientation in mind. However, mobile devices can be easily rotated to landscape orientation for some activities like watching videos or playing games. Similarly, some users prefer to shift their computer monitors from the default landscape to a portrait orientation to make programming or data entry easier.