The first day of art class at the University a short bald man walked in and introduced himself as our art professor.  He proclaimed that he would teach every last one of us one very important thing, “To see.”   The following weeks the short bald man taught us many many things, one being the importance of whitespace.  

Whitespace: Friend or Foe?

Whitespace, also known as negative space, is the space between elements in a composition or page layout.  Don’t let the name fool you though, this leftover design space does not actually have to be white.  It can be blue, green, fire engine red, tickle-me-pink, gold, magenta, black and well, you get the picture.  When whitespace is utilized effectively it can take a good design to great.  However, it is sadly one of the most underrated elements of strong web design.

The secrets of micro whitespace

Micro whitespace, when used correctly, can be a great design ninja tool for influencing where the eye travels on the page.  While designing this type of whitespace, it is good to remember that cramped text with minimal line spacing can be really hard to read.  People don’t want to have their noses up to the screen because the font is so small.  Simply adding some line spacing to the text makes the content easier to scan and process. To increase the line spacing of an element with css, the line-height rule is put into place.  Micro whitespace not only makes content easier to read, but separates blocks of text from one another.

SPACE... the final frontier

Well, it may not be the FINAL frontier but it is used to clean up a site, make it easier on readers, and makes the site appear more professional.  Adding a little space between sections and elements on your page can greatly organize your information and make it easier on the viewer.  If deciding between a border and some space to separate elements, whip out your design ninja secret weapon because a little space can really air out your layout.  If all your elements are stacked up close together the main reaction you will get is a look of confusion.  A cluttered layout is overwhelming and in most cases not aesthetically pleasing.

Mom says, “Practice makes Perfect"

The best way to master whitespace is practice, practice, practice.  In my art class my vertically challenged bald professor did just as he said, taught us “to see.”  Within those short weeks, all of the 20 some students in my class developed an eye for whitespace.  There are no official guidelines or rules about how much space to set for each element.  The best way to learn is to throw yourself in and experiment and study the work of other designs.  One day you too, with practice, will develop your eye for whitespace and become a whitespace design ninja.


More information

Smashing Magazine
 A list apart
 Web design tuts
Web design ledger