Many of us as designers are finding “white space” to be a very important and often overlooked element to all our new designs.
History:
Once upon a time white space wasn’t even discussed let alone focused on. When the web industry started utilizing fluid layouts instead of fixed width ones, every square inch was covered with something. Not suprisingly, with the increase in advertising and revenue generation avenues, ads are filling in those once barren spaces. Great for revenue, bad for the viewer. Things started getting cluttered looking, hard to navigate and often times these new statues hindered the usability of the site.
On to the Present:
As with all things, times change. The importance of including white space into your designs is becoming increasingly popular. Finding creative ways to incorporate them and draw the users eyes to the elements you want them to see.
The point:
So what exactly is my point in this rambling? Simple, use the white space. Do not feel the need to cover every square inch of your design/page with some text, some graphic, or some element. Don’t feel the need to do what advertisers are doing, going so far as to stamp eggs with ads. Consider yourself a creative director, designing something that invites, directs, and grabs the user/browser while at the same time presents a clean, simple and functioning webpage.
Don’t be confused:
Ahh yes, lest I forget to explain that white space doesn’t mean “white” in the color sense, but more empty or void. Leave some space (each heading on this article has white space surrounding it) around elements and text.
What are you waiting for, give that unsung hero some room in your next design.
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