Has your designer ever given you something and you thought, “There’s so much empty space. Couldn’t we put something there?”
Well that’s a good question, let’s talk about it!
If you’re paying for a brochure, flyer, ad, presentation or sign, it can feel strange to leave part of it empty. You have things you want people to know and you have room. Why not use it? But sometimes that empty space is doing a very important job.
People don’t usually look at a piece of communication with unlimited time and attention. They might see your flyer while walking or driving. They might glance at your brochure while waiting in line somewhere. Or they could come across your social post while scrolling through a hundred other things. If there is too much information competing for their attention, they can feel overwhelmed before they even know where to start.
It’s a little like walking into a thrift shop.
There might be some amazing things in there. But if every rack, shelf and surface is absolutely packed, you have to be in the right mood to spend the time sorting through everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good thrifting session, but sometimes you walk in, take one look and think, “Nope. Not today.”
A thriftshop is a real world sample of how lack of whitespace can be overwhelming.
In contrast to a thriftshop, a curated boutique store offers visual whitespace.
Design can work the same way. If everything is shouting for attention, nothing gets noticed. We can combat this with whitespace. Whitespace gives the eye somewhere to rest and can help lead the viewer around the page. It doesn’t need to literally be white, just a space with nothing in it. It can create separation between ideas, help important information stand out and makes a piece feel easier to navigate. And that doesn’t mean leaving half the page blank just for the sake of it. Good design is about deciding what actually needs to be there.
Maybe your brochure doesn’t need six different messages. It’s good to focus on one message in your piece to get the point across quickly. Maybe your poster doesn’t need every detail about your event (perhaps people can gather that from you event page). Maybe your presentation slide doesn’t need the entire paragraph you wrote in the speaker notes, but just the little points that help piece together the idea for the audience.
Here is an Example of No Whitespace vs Whitespace
This is a sample of a typical AI generated flyer which tend to be full of icons, notes, slogans, fonts and colours. It’s simply too much to take in. Always ask, what is the point of the piece?
This is a sample of the same ad but I have reworked the ad to include the main point of the piece, “We’re having a sale”.
Sometimes the best thing a designer can do is help you decide what to leave out. Because the goal isn’t to see how much information we can fit into a space. The goal is to make sure people actually notice the information that matters.
Whitespace isn’t wasted space. It’s breathing room.
With all the things vying for people’s attention right now, a little clean space is a welcome sight.
Your flyer looks good, but does it look like yours?
See how thoughtful branding can help bring everything together.