In page layout, the white space is frequently submitted to as negative space. It is that segment of a page left intact: the space between graphics, margins, gutters, space between columns, space between lines of type or figures and objects drawn or represented. The term occurs from graphic design practice, where printing processes usually use white paper.
My friend first design job was with print design agency in Los Angeles that produced work in changeable media such as packaging, publications, marketing support materials, and direct mail. I soon discovered that the graphic design principles from college were of little help while designing for direct mail, where big, bold, and crowded is the order of the day. In the words from client —“whitespace is considered as empty space.” Direct-mail clients require their packages to look down-market, because it works for them.
Whitespace is the space between fundamentals in a masterpiece. More particularly, the space between major elements is “macro whitespace.” Micro whitespace is the space between smaller elements that to between list items, caption and an image, or between words and letters. So what does whitespace do?
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Micro whitespace and able to be read
In newspaper design, information is intense. Sometimes, as in web design, it’s hard to add whitespace because of content needs. Newspapers often deal with this by setting their body content in a light typeface with abundance of whitespace within and around the characters. Whilst retaining the originality of the original typeface, the redesigned is slightly, adding more whitespace to the individual characters. Then set the type somewhat smaller and with more leading. All these changes added micro whitespace to the design. The overall result was delicate: the content was more readable and the overall feeling of the newspaper was lighter, yet the amount of content remained the same.
Though I also added macro whitespace and color for successful type redesign. It reveals that the space between the stuff can have a big collision on the success of a design and this applies to design for the web as well.
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Brand positioning
Designers use whitespace to build a feeling of complex and stylishness for upscale brands.
Coupled with a responsive use of typography and photography, liberal whitespace is seen all over luxury markets. Cosmetics, for example, use broad whitespace in their marketing material to tell the reader that they are complex, high quality, and generally pricey. My old direct-mail client was correct in his evaluation of whitespace for his meticulous product, because direct-mail packages require emerging down-market to work and adding whitespace to his design would have lent his package a disappointingly upscale quality.
A lot more goes into brand location than just whitespace, but as a concise lands on your desk for a luxury brand, it’s very probable that the client—and their target audience—anticipate whitespace and abundance of it to align the product with its competitors.
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Active and passive whitespace
Whitespace is often used to build a balanced, pleasant-sounding layout. When whitespace is used to lead a reader from one element to another, it’s called “active whitespace.” Everything is pretty restricted. We require to add whitespace to build accord and visual comfort in the design. First, I add margins, change the type family and weight, and also increase the leading (or line-height, as it’s known in CSS). This is all “passive whitespace.”
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Practice is key to success
The only way to come to clutches with a concept as subjective as whitespace is to practice. In the same way artists have to use hours drilling simple techniques, graphic designers have to do the same.
