Have you ever sat back and considered the power of blank space? As a designer, it can be difficult to gather inspiration when creating a powerful image that contains every little element needed.
But what if you did not have to incorporate everything all at once and, instead, only focus on the most important features? White Space is amongst the countless design tools at hand for a graphic artist. This tool is crucial in creating eye-catching images and is as simple as nothing.
Keep on reading to discover how white space can lead your design to greater impact.
What is White Space?
White space is a design term used to represent the area within a page without any text or visuals. Its sole purpose is to help readers or viewers understand what they are looking at with ease. The lack of cramped visuals offers a sense of visual contrast within the page as there is balance and clarity amongst the chosen design elements. Utilising white space ensures that each piece of text or visual aspect included in the design is there for a reason, making this feature a powerful tool when wanting to highlight your vision.
The Elements of White Space
When creating a design, there will always be factors to consider in making it reach its full potential. Knowing when and how to apply white space is just as important, if not more, as knowing what it is.
The three main elements to recognise when using white space are legibility, tone and focus.
- Legibility - an informal measure of a reader’s ease and capability in deciphering one word from another within a text.
The measure of legibility tends to engage more with text rather than visuals. Its most important features lie within the text’s arrangement and variations in size, font and colour. Using white space in your design will increase legibility. Maintaining a single space for text lets readers and viewers know where to look, reassuring them with just the right amount of information. If your design is cluttered with differently sized text and colours, the intended audience may have difficulty understanding your message, leaving them puzzled and disinterested.
- Tone - the general character or attitude of an image or piece of writing.
Knowing the initial aesthetic behind your design is a great place to begin before you employ white space. You must understand who your design is for and what kind of ‘feel’ you want it to reflect. Let’s say, for example, that you work for a news website. Your respective audience is individuals who like to be informed and updated with current events. Knowing this, the tone of your design will probably end up busy with text and visuals, allowing your target audience to choose what they want to read without having to scroll down so much. In this context, the lack of white space makes sense, as the news is often interpreted as fast-paced and less concerned with the visual treatment of a design layout.
- Focus - specific areas within a design which are emphasised and made different to grab the viewer’s attention.
Whereas, for example, the Apple website takes both the tone and focus of white space into account, creating a natural flow of visual and written elements within its design. Users can navigate their layout easily, as the iPhone presents the primary focus through both text and visuals. Commonly known as ‘focal points’, the focus of a design is heavily influenced by the amount of white space used. This element reduces the features that are not regarded as essential, focusing solely on what is vital within the design. Ask yourself: “What is my design about? And how can I draw attention to it using the least amount of design features?”
The Different Kinds of White Space
Now that the elements of white space are understood, you are one step closer to mastering this design technique. Although it may seem like a basic tool to wrap your head around, there are still many different variations and definitions of white space that you can learn.
White space is not “one size fits all”. The various ratios and proportions rely upon what and who your design is for. Certain styles of white space are cut down into two: micro vs macro white space.
Micro White Space - the space between small design elements like letters, text lines and paragraphs.
Used mostly for text purposes, micro white space increases legibility by spacing the lines within paragraphs wider apart. The separation of this small yet, critical factor creates a balance that flows naturally throughout the page.
Macro White Space - the space between bigger design elements like text columns and visuals.
Macro white space is seen mostly throughout campaigns or web designs as the graphics or products, in some cases, are the main selling point. A simple and organised design ensures viewers and readers distinguish what the most important features within the image are.
The main takeaway from using white space is that less is always more! You always want a design that viewers can navigate with ease no matter what. By applying these elements and the differences in white space to your work, your designs will achieve greater impact.
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