One of the most popular design techniques that has gained a great deal of attention over the years is white space in web design. A majority of websites nowadays are choosing to go the route of including aesthetics that are minimalist in style, and white space is one of the most common aesthetic aspects of this particular style.
White space is often defined simply as being “the space between stuff on the page;” although, this extra space is not always white in color, which has led to more individuals instead referring to it as “negative space.”
This is a term that has actually been used a lot in the art world and is described as what you get when you paint the area around a particular object in order to showcase the shape itself more accurately.
It’s also extremely important to understand exactly how you can put this kind of space to good use, especially in web design. Here are some ideas that delve more into the importance of white space.
How to make use of white space
Image source: Luke Curé
Based on the specific purpose of the overall content on a website, each website utilizes white space in a different manner. The best example of this involves a website’s landing page, which may contain plenty of this kind of space due to the page’s main function involving showcasing a call-to-action button.
However, websites such as ones the concentrate more on eCommerce may not contain a great deal of white space due to all of the content that the page must include, though there will still be some amount of white space.
All in all, white space should always be used within context. Unfortunately, this also means that not every website will contain any hard-and-fast rules involving this.
Image source: flat.io
Furthermore, while each kind of web design is certainly unique in their own respect, white space should always be paired up with other different design techniques that work very well off of one another.
Variety is also another great thing to keep in mind because there will be some websites that may require more or less white space than another website would. In cases like this, it’s essential that you rely on your own personal intuition.
There are also two other aspects that should be prioritized: readability and legibility. An inventory interface should be created to help assess the scope of all of your content, and this should be created before you even start the design process. Then, rough content wireframes should be created in order to determine exactly how much space would be needed for these two aspects.
In order to add an extra sense of style to a website layout, there are three things that you should consider utilizing: disparatve font sizes, asymmetrical white space, and contrasting colors.
Why use white space
Image source: Michael Korwin
White space essentially enables web designers to dictate which particular features of a website that they’re building should stand out over others. Thanks to the welcoming type of layout this creates, visitors will be more likely to remain on the website for longer amounts of time. Here are some useful ways in which you can help to create this kind of an impression.
Focus the visitor’s attention on the CTA
http://ift.tt/1Vw0GZG
Image source: Jed Bridges
CTAs will be allowed to breathe as long as the white space gives them enough room to do so. Visitors to the website can be guided to the necessary call-to-action buttons on a website whenever white space is included in just the right kind of proportion. Furthermore, the overall chances of a conversion will be increased whenever the CTAs are framed using white space.
Keep elements organized
Image source: Jake Sunshine
All aspects of creating a website should be handled as efficiently as possible, whether you’re choosing color schemes, fonts, or actual layouts. Whenever white space is used properly, it can help to create a sense of elegance rather than appearing to be too minimalist in style.
It enhances legibility
Image source: Abhinav
White space is also something that enhances legibility, which can be achieved through intelligent amounts of spacing between paragraphs, as well as in the margins. There are certainly other things that can be enhanced in terms of usability, but perhaps the most touted aspect is how well white space does with enhancing legibility.
You can establish a visual hierarchy
Image source: Marcelo Silva
When you own your own website, you will essentially be able to distribute all of your content to the entire world. In fact, that’s the entire point of owning your own website. But this also begs the following question to be asked: how can you display your most important points in order to solidify your online presence?
The short and simple answer to this question is to simply allow your website to stand out as much as possible. While this may sound a little crazy, crowding all of your content is actually the best way to inhibit your flow. Whenever a website without any white space is viewed, it becomes virtually unreadable.
This means that if everything looks pretty much the same, you won’t be able to select any kind of important content. Rather, important content should be isolated from everything else in order to allow it to stand out more.
Image source: Michael Pons
As previously mentioned, doing something like this will most definitely increase legibility on your website. Additionally, it will help all of the visitors to your website locate information much more quickly than normal, as well as help direct attention from one particular section of your website to the next.
Furthermore, when you utilize passive white space (which consists of the margins and spacing within typography) and active white space (utilizing white space to help manipulate user flows), your designs will not only obtain an elegant-type feel, but they also will both impress and engage your general audience.
Ending thoughts
While white space is definitely something good to use, it is also something that can generate a great deal of friction between web designers and their client base. This is due largely in part to most clients not wanting to see a great deal of empty space on their websites, which results in the designers having to explain how good of a role negative space can play in a website design.
Sure, white space may seem to be rather empty and ordinary at first, but in the end, it truly will improve the overall look and feel of the design.
You will definitely like these articles
Source: http://ift.tt/1Vw0ERG
No comments:
Post a Comment