Whitespace - an often overlooked layout component in the design, you don’t have to be a designer to understand that space has a direct impact on site and app usability.
It can be observed from early stages - wireframe phase that uses space effectively in your design layout helps increase readability, provide feedback and draw the reader to the most important parts of the screen.
As said by Aarron Walter - "Design for Emotion",
"If everything yells for your viewer's attention, nothing is heard"
Here is your guide to designing space right.
What does space have to do with UX/UI designers?
Space is what helps designers create visual breathing room for the eye, and makes users want to stay on the page. It can also help to suggest function and create an emphasis on important content.
So when we talk about UX/UI designs, there are two concepts that come into the picture - Proximity and Negative Space (aka Whitespace)
What is Proximity?
The Law of Proximity states that objects that are near or 'proximate' to each other tend to be grouped together.
Designers will implement proximity to groups of elements. It’s simple really. It just involves placing related elements close together.
Proximity is a powerful tool for designers. Having familiarity on-screen helps users to create meaningful connections with brands.
Negative Spacing in Layout
Good use of negative space helps to de-clutter the site or app so that users can focus on important elements and read content more easily. However, the proper utilization of white space is very essential otherwise the design can end up looking non-professional and plain.
Use space effectively in UI layout design
How you include space into your UI layout design varies from screen to screen. For instance, you might use more whitespace on a Homepage to emphasize a call-to-action button, but less on a site listing multiple items, such as an e-Commerce product page.
Negative space helps the users to focus on the most relevant content. This is usually done through the effective use of macro and micro spaces in the design. In laymen terms, macro space refers to the larger segments of white spaces in design(space between headers, footers and the margins in a website) while micro spaces refer to the smaller spaces between different UI elements (the space between lines and paragraphs)
In the example above, on the left, the illustration is mixed with other components disallowing the user to absorb appropriate information whereas, on the right side, the illustration enjoys white space, allowing the user to focus on the relevant illustration which in turn is linked to the provided information.
Keep it consistent
Consistency is the key. Every bit of information in design is consistent and so is white space. The logical utilization of the space creates appropriate space for each element in the design.
Inconsistency will lead to a broken user interface.
In conclusion, whitespace is highly rated as Waste of Space by most businesses since they feel space can be utilised to show more content. As a designer, it is very important to try and sensitize their clients about the value the white space will add to their business in terms of usability and conversions.
“White space isn’t neat or nice; it’s effective and valuable”
White space isn’t literally an empty space, it’s a powerful design tool. The application of white space is both art and science. Maintaining a select level of white space in the design composition and creating a balance will only come by experience and practice.
Comments