mario garcia
White space More often than not, after a redesign is complete, readers think the publication is printed on better paper. This, of course, is rarely the case. What has changed is that white space has been incorporated, thus giving an impression of a cleaner environment. White space is important. Like punctuation in a sentence, it allows thoughts to flow without running into each other. It is no longer true that only feature or supplement pages should utilize white space; even news pages benefit from more breathing room. I incorporate white space in all pages of my projects, and at some level, the reader appreciates it. Beside the obvious, there are many places to employ white space:
Between lines of headlines or summaries.
Between photographs and captions.
Between subheads and the text that follow them.
Between a graphic and surrounding elements.
Around the box that packages a story or photo essay.
Directly under the header of the page (two lines of white space recommended here) Between ad space and editorial space.
White space is the most silent of aids to the designer. 144
pure design
Forceful silence: Brunch, the Sunday supplement of the Jyllands Posten in Copenhagen, emphasizes big photographs and long text, and buffers it all with generous white space. If not cushioned by white space, the pieces would be less inviting.
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mario garcia
The power of white: When Miller Media redesigned Barra’s web site, simplicity was the goal. Barra, a maker of complex riskmanagement tools, was scaring off users with an information-dense site. Designers spent the majority of time working with editors to whittle down the information to the essentials, then applied a clean, open design with white space at a premium.
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pure design
Less is more: During a change in editors, Miller Media was asked to update the look and feel of House Beautiful, an interior design magazine that had seen market share slipping. Lead designer John Miller stripped down the stuffy covers, concentrating on simple, iconic images. The logo was redone in a classic serif; typography was elevated to starker, more elegant levels. And to complete the look, liberal amounts of white space was used on every page.
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