Aside from design, the colour ‘white’ naturally adds a touch of uniqueness in many aspects of our lives. In home décor, white painted walls are used to give a room a spacious look. White is also used in healthcare to represent purity, cleanliness and calm.
Psychologically, white space in web design can give a website a look and feel of simplicity. While an inexperienced designer may consider it a sign of inadequacy, the truth is that the right composure of white space can influence web visitors and guide them towards action.
What Exactly Is White Space?
The term, ‘white space’ was first used for traditional 2D print designs, and is commonly used in graphic and website design. It refers to the negative space between two-dimensional structures. Visually, negative space offers relief and intelligent organisation to elements on a page by emphasising and separating graphics and texts with white space.
Consider the application of white space in between characters, lines and forms- anything in graphics design. Smart use of white space prevents designers from crowding content together- unless there is a significant reason to do so. White space also creates a sort of invisible uniformity that enhances legibility of any design piece- be it on a website, mobile phone, tablet, print magazine or paper poster.
More Reasons To Use White Space In Design
As design experts, white space can be used to impart a feeling of elegance and sophistication for luxury brands. Along with exquisite typography and crisp quality photos, the upscale brand industry is a haven of quality white space design.
Photographers and designers work together to provide sophisticated designs that are easy on the eyes. It also makes the customer willing to pay more for premium products. If you take time to study designs in the cosmetics and beauty industry, you’ll notice a generous use of white space in the print ads and web pages.
Some Tips For Smart Use Of White Space In Website Design
It may look easy, but far from it, white space requires do strategic thinking and tactful execution. Here are some useful things to consider:
1. Use it to highlight design elements
Are there some features on your website you wish the observer to notice? Apply white space to emphasise those elements. It can also be used to complement certain aspects of a web page like the Call to Action button.
2. Remove distractions with white space
White space is very effective in attracting people to certain things you want them to see. Perhaps the best example of this is Google’s home page. The simple logo surrounded by a sea of white space automatically draws the user’s attention to the space bar.
3. Don’t use it as an escape route
White space is not an excuse for lazy design. Ensure you use it wisely because applying white space as a means to cop out can be sussed from a mile away.
4. Less is more
If there is an ideal depiction for “less is more”, white space is that design feature. When designing a website, resist the urge to keep adding unnecessary images or structures. Sometimes, the website is better off with a handful of carefully-crafted content.
As someone once said, “Good design is not what you put in, but what you take out.”