Don’t Forget The Whitespace
Isn’t it so exciting when you have a great new idea and find just the right words to tell your audience about it? Amazing, right? Next time that happens, take a deep breath and remember: Don’t forget the whitespace.
What Is Whitespace?
It’s the negative areas (aka simply “space”) between the elements (text and images) in any piece you’re working on (website, slide deck, brochure, etc.) And just like how we want to talk really, really fast when we’re excited, we also tend to forget about whitespace when we’re writing about something that has us all amped up.
Why is whitespace important? Simply put, it’s breathing room for the eyes. It allows people who are less familiar with whatever concept you’re presenting to have the visual and mental space to take it all in. Plus, it makes your design look better and more professional. Who wouldn’t want that?
Using Whitespace Strategically
In 15+ years of working in marketing, I’ve come to believe that there are two types of decision-making readers out there.
There are the CEO-types who:
Are never going to read everything you write
Want to read enough to make an informed decision and move on
Love bullet points
They want everything to be easily scannable and will quickly lose interest if you bog them down with too much text.
Then, there are the CFO-types who will dig into the little details, feel the need to do due diligence, and might not trust you if they feel there is not enough information provided in the materials you provide to them. Paragraphs allow for the insight they crave and they’re willing to put in the time to truly understand your offer.
If you work exclusively with one type or the other, you now know how to hook them. But, most businesses deal with a mix of decision makers, so the trick is to provide enough information for the CFO-types to do due diligence while keeping your copy scannable enough for the CEO-types. A good layout with appropriate whitespace can do both.
Here’s how:
Start with deciding what information is most important to the decision making process and keep it brief and scannable at the top of your design
Use strategic font size, bolding, italics, images, and paragraph and page breaks to create a visual hierarchy.
Add depth and detail as you continue, allowing multiple opportunities for people to take action as they reach their decision making point and before they lose interest.
Make Room For Margins
Just because you have all the space on a page doesn’t mean you have to use it for copy. (And by page, I mean printed page, webpage, slide in your deck, or anything else you’re using as a canvas for your message.) Just like in life, having margin on your page is important. It creates focus on what’s most important and allows people to actually take in what you’re saying.
In printed work, I always strive for at least .5” on every side. Less usually feels crammed. 1” or more feels luxurious. If you can’t create the equivalent look of the .5” in whatever you’re working on, you have too much copy on the page. Cut it down or add more pages.
Crowding the copy just makes it less likely that people will read it. And unread copy doesn’t help anyone.
Protect Your Logo
We can’t do an article on whitespace and not talk about your logo. In fact, when I do brand guidelines for a client, there’s a whole page dedicated to size and space for the logo.
And it always includes an image that looks like this:
This image shows how a part of the logo (in this case it’s the “E” from “Estate”) can be used to ensure proper spacing around the logo no matter what size it is.
Full brand guidelines help ensure your business’ look and feel are consistent across all platforms no matter who is making your content. But, even if that’s not the next right step for you, you can still take a moment and make a policy about how much space your logo requires. It’s a little step that will go a long way in leveling up your look.
Here’s to looking as good as the value you bring to the table and using whitespace to do it!