White Space

White space, also known as negative space, is the term describing open space between design elements. It can be between letters, words, or paragraphs of text; space in and outside of graphics, and between all of the elements of the page. It is essential for providing spatial relationships between visual items, and actually guides your reader's eye from one point to another.

White space is an important layout technique often overlooked by inexperienced designers. While some artists concentrate heavily on what to put in, they can overlook what to leave out. A design that is to be visually appealing must also be easy on the eyes. Without an adequate amount of white space, text would be unreadable, graphics would lose their emphasis, and there would be no balance between the elements on a page.

White space takes on an added importance on the web because more of a strain is placed on the eyes than with print material. You'll find that going through the same amount of web pages as print pages can be more visually demanding, one of the reasons being that you usually find yourself staring up at monitor flickering pixels coarser than printed ink. White space provides our brains with much-needed breathing room to absorb the material displayed before us.

Treat white space as more than just a background. Treat it as an integral part to your page design. You'll find it increases your layout's appeal with less visual "noise," while augmenting the visual power of your message.
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