How To Create a Functional Design With White Space

White space, also referred to as negative space, is an important design concept. Negative space is the absence of active design elements that demand nothing from the user. The term refers to the amount of space, or padding, around visuals, tables, forms, headlines and content on a webpage or on paper (and it does not have to be white). It is more of an intuitive design choice than a hard rule, and every designer applies it differently.

There is no standard for how much white space you should apply around the elements in your layout. The challenge is applying too little or too much white space. Too much white/negative space makes your content elements appear distant, separated and hard to scan. Too little makes your content difficult to read. A well-balanced amount of negative space, however, has the power to declutter your design and give it an instant professional, elegant feel without superfluous distractions.

But white space is more than just a design element. Negative space helps your readers digest your content better. Good use of white space between paragraphs, headlines, subheads and in the page’s left and right margins increases reading comprehension by almost 20%. Readers find it easier to focus on, scan and process generously spaced content, even if that means they must scroll more.