Second Draft

The Role of Blank Space in Typography


1. Introduction

People read materials in newspapers, magazines, the Internet, books, advertisements in their daily lives. Those reading materials have various visualizations that are depend on several elements such as sizes of papers, layouts, colors and typefaces. Those components help people to read and understand texts easily. However, when people read some materials, usually they concentrate on reading the contents in texts to follow contents and it is not easy for casual eyes to notice about those elements. Especially, the blank space is not also easy to know. However, the blank space is importance in legibility, variety, and aesthetic in typography.

According to Boulton (2007), “whitespace is empty space” (para. 1). However, the meaning of blank space is not simply white space. Although the blank space has some color and it does not look any function, it can be blank space. In typography, the blank space is between elements in composition. Through the elements, the blank space gives them legibility because the pertinent blank space in a good composition can lead readers’ eyes to follow contents comfortably and to find good points of contents easily. Thus, when they have reading materials, some elements made bring out to them readability. Donald points out its importance; “Lack of white space is as tiresome as the party blabbermouth. [On the other hand,] margins and white space beckon the reader in” (as cited in White, 2002, p29). Furthermore, the appropriate blank space in composition can create aesthetic. In a similar vein, Boulton (2007) points out more blank space are luxury and less blank space is cheap (para. 4). It explains relationship between blank space and the value of aesthetic. Having more blank space will look like high quality artwork and marvelously, this concept related with a canon of East aesthetic especially Korea.

2. Blank Space with Legibility and Variety
- Empty space and elements in a composition

The composition between elements and blank space is important in typography. The elements are the space between words, text columns, paragraphs, lines, and characters. White (2002) explains detailed that “The rules must be clear in both the use of white space and in the placement of elements in the white space. The use of too little white space results in an overfull page. On the other hand, the use too much white space makes a page or spread look incomplete, as if elements have slid off the page” (p. 23). It explains that lack of blank space can make to read difficult as overlapping or connecting between letters or lines and paragraphs or columns and on the other hand, the overfull blank space, wasted space, can make people’s eyes lose to follow direction. As the appropriate blank space makes only legibility, typographers always consider about the propriety. Sometimes to give more knowledge, typographers need to reduce the amount of blank space but without the minimum of blank space nobody try to read.

Using blank space in composition of content makes variety and legibility. Although it is the same content, it looks different and easy to understand according to the amount of blank space. As seen in the examples below, the two passages have same contents but those have different amount of blank space. White (2002) explained abut Tschichold’s poster cards designed by concentrating symmetrical style of typography. Tschichold described about those two examples like that “The content has been refitted to a symmetrical format to show how white space added quality to the communication.” (as cited in White, p,29).



In the logo design, manipulating empty space skillfully blank space is more important because it can be make more variety. The blank space can make people focus on some logos or some massage which is companies want to impact and communicate with people. Lindsay (2006) points out the blank space will look incomplete but publishers have learned because blank space is like breathe (para 3.10.). Also, Lindsay (2006) warns to fill available space with advertisement, in effect customers and advertisements will be driving away at the same time (para 12.). As seen in the examples below, FedEx logo shows the successful logo that becomes famous to use blank space between letters. The FedEx logo shows how using blank space can affect to people. The FedEx logo designer, Leader (2004), used the “hidden” space between a capital “E” and a lower-case “x” to create arrow. It becomes small change of a view from concentrating letter design to observing the blank space. He realized the blank space and then chose the typeface to create perfect arrow well (para 7 ~9.).



3. Blank Space Speaks Itself
- Less blank space = cheap; more blank space = luxury

In the advertising of typography like posters, the blank space is important to make look expensive. Boulton (2007) explains “designers use whitespace to create a feeling of sophistication and elegance for upscale brands.” “...use extensive whitespace in their marketing material to tell the reader that they are sophisticated, high quality, and generally expensive (para 4.). When advertising in settled space, some companies decided the most important information to observe with blank space. Others just concentrate to give much information to reader with full space. However, White (2002) points out how it works in advertisement that companies want to get large space in newspapers to advertise and then they leaved blank space because they believe “empty speaks even more highly of the company’s success”(p. 29). This concept of blank space is similar with the meaning of blank space in oriental. According to Kim (2001) “the blank space, oneself, is not a just hollow one and it can be said that the blank space manifests the formation of a picture and the inner world of the painter through the formative consciousness like the essential elements of a picture” (p. II). It is that the blank space gives people opportunity to interpret their own imagination about the blank space plentifully. It will be same idea between western and oriental.

Those are posters designed by America and Korea. Two posters do not have many words. The left poster has the words “Amantes Amentes Films” with some information and the right poster has oriental painting with Chinese character and Korean character. The layout of posters is different but using blank space and posters’ edges is similar. It is same that blank in the center of both posters, the left poster used edges of top and bottom, and the right poster used edge of right side. Those give an opportunity to audiences to understand blank space themselves. In addition, making blank space a lot in commercial posters, it represents the wealth because they have to give up the chance of to use more colors, information, and visual impact instead of creating the blank space.


4. Conclusion

The blank space can be defined white and empty space as different expression according to different perspectives. The blank space may not look important, but it has function. The blank space creates different view of composition with same contents and makes variety and legibility. Focusing on design blank space makes fresh and successful result like the white arrow of FedEx logo. In addition, in advertising, blank space makes luxurious visual effect with more space that makes people have their own interpretation and less word that are the most important. It will give impact people to keep the ideas longer than designed full space.

Blank space should consider with full space because filled the limited space on papers that are given opportunities typographers to express a lot of ideas and information. The role of various elements in typography are important as well as the blank space but sometimes they are given up by the blank space because they should think about the role of blank space.




References

Boulton. M. (2007 Jan. 09). Whitespace. Retrieved May 31, 2007, from
http://alistapart.com/articles/whitespace

Kim. D.W. (2001. Oct.) The Spirit of Blank Space and the Formative Consideration in
the oriental Painting. Korea: National Assembly Library

Leader. L. (2004 Nov. 16). The Man Behind the FedEx Logo. Retrieved June 14, 2007,
from http://www.thesneeze.c om/mt-archives/000273.php

Lindsay. S. (2006 Oct. 23). Website Design: Welcome The White Space. Retrieved June 17, 2007 http://www.webpronews.com/expertarticles/2006/10/23/website-design-welcome-the-white-space

White. A. W. (2002). The Elements of Graphic Design. New York; Allworth Press. p23~29.

Retrieved June 14, 2007, from http://www.chihwaseon.com