- We live in a world that has a huge amount
of visual clutter.
We are bombarded with imagery and messages most
of our waking hours every day.
We look at frenetic moving images on television and online.
We see image after image of dense advertising
on a website or on our own social media.
Even the evening news has multiple layers
of information running simultaneously.
It is so rare when we see negative space
or areas without content that it feels unique
and somehow odd,
and we stop and pay attention.
When the page is so cluttered with information,
nothing stands out.
When there is room to breathe and space
to give content priority,
the layout works.
Negative space is allowed to dominate the design
of this book about Italian designer AG Fronzoni.
The typography does double duty,
listing content in two languages on the spine.
The result is a beautiful object.
A simple black square.
Consider this invitation to an event.
It's acceptable.
The typeface is interesting
and the black and white palette has good contrast.
Now let's make some changes.
First, the headline sitting in the middle
of the page is expected.
Placing the headline lower on the layout gives us the sense
that books are heavy and reinforces the symbolism.
And we can push the idea more by knocking over some
of the letter forms.
But to add more visual interest,
we increase the negative space.
This is the original design of the card.
It may seem that there is nothing above the headline
but that isn't true.
There is a whole lot of white up there.
In fact, there is so much white space
that the invitation immediately stands out.
In addition to commanding attention,
negative space can amplify the content by isolating it.
It is a common mistake to work on a layout
and feel that something is wrong
and add something to fix it.
This leads to more stuff added and more.
And when it's still isn't working,
even more.
The solution is often not to add but subtract.
Is there something that is serving no purpose
or you can find no reason to keep it?
The screen back image was unrecognizable.
Why keep it?
Does the content really need boxes
and lines to understand it?
No.
If an element on the layout is not adding to the message,
it is taking away from that message.
Nothing sits on the page neutral.
Focus on the delivery of information
and give the viewer space to see it.
I found that clients will see negative space
as even more real estate to add more content
and make everything bigger.
Maybe they think they're getting a good deal
if the whole page is filled.
A good way to highlight the importance
of maintaining negative space is
to show the client the solution in context.
If it's a poster,
put it on a bulletin board
with other posters and photograph it
or use Photoshop to strip it into a setting.
If it's a page in a magazine,
put it in a magazine and let the client turn the pages.
Seen after the chaos of other pages,
your solution will stand out as clear and legible.
It's a good way to show how strong your solution is
and how much it stands out against the clutter.