What is White Space, and why do we need it?
by WendyWhite space is the space within a design where no text or graphics appears. And despite the name, the space does not have to be white.
White space in a design can lead your visitors eyes to the important part of your design, give the eyes a chance to rest OR just strengthen your design by giving more power to what is on the page. Sometimes less is more, you do not have to cram as much "stuff" as possible into your site.
A website needs to convey your message quickly and if it's just overflowing with everything you want your visitor to know about you and your site, you are bound to overload their mind. And that means a quick hit to the "back" button or they will just close the window.
When designing your site, ask yourself if things are starting to get too cluttered and add white space to remedy that. If it looks empty, you might need less white space. Balance is the key here. Just be honest with yourself, or possibly get some opinions from people you trust to be honest about whether your site design is too busy or not.
The new trend is to go towards more white space. It makes your visitors slow down, read the information, and absorb it better. Maybe after a few years of having massive portal sites crammed down our throats…a little extra white space isn't such a bad thing.
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January 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Nice. Very nice.
I’ve always been a proponent of “less is more”. Sometimes, breaking down a body of text into a couple of extra paragraphs is just enough to keep the readers attention. That extra white space is just enough. I know it is for me.
Dave
January 6th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Out of curiosity, is there any studies or information that points to an optimal size of a paragraph or article for keeping a readers attention?
Dave
January 7th, 2007 at 1:38 am
I would be willing to bet Wendy has that info. She truly is a kickass designer in all aspects.
January 7th, 2007 at 3:19 am
CrankyDave: I thought I had an answer for you on this, but after much searching, I see no evidence of studies done. I have read, what I must assume is, the opinions of many different people. Now, considering the fact that I do not have a New York Times Style and Usage Guide, an Associated Press Style Book or any other authoratative manual on the subject, I will relay what I have found to be the common decision on paragraph length and it’s optimal size.
And the answer is…It depends. I have seen people state that 2-3 sentences is enough, and others that claim you should go with a 5-7 sentence paragraph. Really though, I think the perfect length of a paragraph that will keep your reader’s attention is…long enough to get your point across. And it depends on your target reader. If you are trying to sell a product or service to neurophysicists then you might have longer more wordy paragraphs. And if you are trying branding a concept or toy to a 10 year old…you might want to get it over with in the most direct and forward manor, with short paragraphs, easy words and lots of navigational illustrations.
I would think that there has to be some sort of study information published somewhere it can be found. If I do come across it, I will put the link here for you.
Wendy
January 7th, 2007 at 3:33 am
ok, I couldn’t leave it alone so I started looking around again. Here are two links from what I am hoping are authorities on the subject (at least to some degree):
Writers Digest article on paragraph length - http://www.writersdigest.com/archiveitemdisplay.asp?id=1599&secondarycategory=
Bristol University section from “Improve Your Writing” - http://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/skills/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_39.htm
There are many more, but they all say the same thing, make it as long as it needs to be to get your point across. I would say that if you are making a point and using words within the readers grasp, then you will keep them engaged until the end of the paragraph. I could be wrong though
Anyone else have any thoughts on the subject?
And thanks “info”. I appreciate that your comments
January 7th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Thank you Wendy!
Personally, I am easily bored and annoyed (what a surprise eh?) with too much text or too long of a body of text, and find myself skimming sooner rather than later.
Interestingly, I find that the product pages I track which have the highest percentage of text also tend to be higher exit pages. I just wonder that if in general, it’s mirroring the faster pace of society as a whole.
“Don’t have time. I need what I want and I need it now.”
Dave
January 8th, 2007 at 1:35 am
I think you might be on to something there Dave. Today many people want instant gratification. They search for something, they want the results in bold text on the first line or they are on to the next site. Maybe not quite that drastic, but you know what I mean.
As long as we don’t have to start typing in that horrible IM shorthand, then I can adjust to making shorter paragraphs to make it easier for the people that like to skim for the important parts. I would imagine though that would include a lot of people out there. Personally, I skim for what I want…I always have and probably always will.
Life is just too short to spend it reading “filler text”.
January 11th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Precisely!
This is also where I believe websites, especially ecommerce site, are trying to maintain the delicate balance between having enough text to satisfy the SE’s but not so much that it annoys their potential customers.
Dave