Space matters

Posted by: Dr Ashley Tan on: February 5, 2018

• In: Uncategorized
• Leave a Comment

Lessons sometimes hide in the least obvious places. Take this tweet for instance. It provides a lesson on using white space.

You Don’t Matter Give Up? Not exactly motivating. #MotivationMonday pic.twitter.com/MZ3NuHmoi6

— You Had One Job (@_youhadonejob1) January 29, 2018

With the white space, the message in two parts reads: You matter. Don’t give up. Without the white space, the signs read: You don’t matter. Give up.

There are many reasons for incorporating white space in any form of design. In the case of the signs, sufficient empty space helps you make sense of the intended message. Removing it provides an unintended joke.

White space helps create clarity. Something similar could be said about providing physical, temporal, or social space between you and a complex problem.

If you are too close to a problem or if you work so frequently with the nitty-gritty of an issue, it is often difficult to solve it because you cannot see where you need to go with it.

Distance from an issue might help you gain a new or broader perspective. Providing space between you and the seemingly unsolvable problem matters.

Tags: design, distance, matters, problem solving, space, strategy, white