Heard a design teacher say white space is a luxury and it clicked for me

I was sitting in on a friend's college lecture last week just for fun, and the prof said "white space is a luxury most clients can't afford." That hit me hard because I've been cramming everything into my flyers for the PTA bake sale and they look awful. I tried leaving more room around the main text on my next poster and suddenly people could actually read the time and date without squinting. Has anyone else had a client push back on empty space but you knew it made the design better?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.rose5d ago

That teacher is spot on and I actually just read something that backs this up. There was this study or article I saw about how people's eyes move across a page and they found that when there's too much stuff crammed together, the brain basically gives up and doesn't process anything properly. It's like when you open a closet that's totally stuffed and you can't even tell what's in there anymore because it's all just a big mess. Leaving that white space is like giving your brain a little rest stop so it can actually see what matters. I think the problem is clients see white space as something they paid for that isn't being used, but really you're paying for the effect it creates.

gavin_mason315d ago

Honestly that teacher nailed it. Clients always think empty space is wasted space when really it's what makes everything else actually readable. Tbh most people don't realize good design is just as much about what you leave out as what you put in.