Business people have a love/hate relationship with white space. Marketing loves it. Engineering hates it. It’s been that way for years.
White space is an important feature of any communication; in fact, it may be the most valuable part. The term “white space” (sometimes also called “negative space”) refers to the empty spaces between objects on a page—whether that page is printed or virtual (online). These objects include anything from graphics to margins to lines of text. Though white space doesn’t necessarily have to be white, it does have to be empty space.
Effective use of white space can highlight your message and put it on center stage. White space exists for a reason—to comfortably lead a reader where you, as the designer/developer want him to go. Since white spaces are strategically designed, dictating the visual flow, they determine how we perceive and process a piece of communication. Basically, they determine the visual hierarchy of sections on a page, directing us what to read or look at first or next. The empty spaces around lines of text and margins allow the reader to quickly scan and understand the message being presented. In addition, they help to separate blocks of content and bring organization to the page. Without that visual cue as to how to read a particular page, the ability to effectively communicate any message is greatly diminished.
White space plays a particularly important role in advertising and marketing communications for two reasons. In advertising, whether in print, on television or online, the advertiser has but a split second to stop a reader and grab his attention. By isolating key visual and/or verbal points, white space creates a natural visual magnet that draws the eye, and by extension, the reader’s attention.
In marketing communications applications like a brochure, trade show display or a website, for example, white space creates an easy-to-follow, logical path to the communication of often complex and technical subject matter.
In short, the absence of content, strategically designed, is precisely what draws the eye to the content, aiding immensely in comprehension.
To the communications layman, white space is sometimes looked at as a symbol of design gone wild, as art for art’s sake with no practical purpose. After all, in print and web design, paper and screen real estate are valuable commodities since both have limited space in which to present a message. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Creating an effective, harmonious balance between white space and content is no easy task. Not enough white space will cause the communication to look crowded and unfocused, making it difficult to read; whereas too much white space can make the communication look disjointed and equally unfocused. It is a careful balance that must be struck, and there are few hard and fast rules. Still, whatever the design approach and the allocation of white space, the goal remains the same: to grab a reader’s attention and make it easy for him to notice, absorb and comprehend the communication. Examples of both good and bad design are everywhere, but some of the best examples of the effective use of white space can be seen in the marketing material and websites for companies like Apple and Google.
-Tom Sheehan is Principal Strategist and Creative Director at tomsheehan worldwide. He can be reached at tomsheehan@tomsheehan.com or 610-478-8448.
