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I have created a huge list of creative websites ranging through all aspects of design, illustration and web related content. I’ve built this up through lots of browsing, some are great, some just have great bits. I hope you find them useful and I urge you to visit at least one every day. You never know, you might just find a gem.

Whitespace doesn’t need to be white, it just needs to be void of content. Any area not used, generally for the purpose of layout, is classed as whitespace. This means it can be any color, not just white.

The pedigree

Throughout print history, whitespace has been used to great effect by many of the best designers. You’ll often see blank pages, with nothing but a line of text a third of the way up from the bottom. Designers are using this negative space to add emphasis or draw your eye to a particular element.

White space is classy. Really classy. Just look around at adverts throughout magazines and newspapers. The high class products or companies will tend to have far more space around elements on the page than cheaper products. Also note the lack of text. They don’t have to sell their products, they sell themselves. Junk mail is a prime example of this, cheap products or services completely fill the page… and get thrown away almost instantly. It literally is rubbish.

In a way this is understandable, the advertisers have large print runs and distribute to thousands of homes, just for that small percentage of return. To cut costs they print on small and low grade paper stock, cramming lots of information into the small space. Thus whitespace is expensive to print. That’s why classy/rich companies can afford to use white space effectively.

On the internet however, space is free.

Clients hate whitespace

Customers see whitespace as a waste of money. Constantly customers ask what they can put in that place. Nothing! i tell them. I left it on purpose. And no, it’s not a prime place for google ads!.

It costs nothing extra to have a longer page. We should use this to make your company look better.

Whitespace allows websites to look clean, high class, fresher and allows the user to distinguish the main elements. Busy sites are a awful to navigate or find anything you actually want. It’s like looking at sky’s TV guide and trying to find Lost!

Why packing out the page is wrong

• It looks messy
• Visitors do not know where to start
• It looks cheap

Whitespace rocks!

• Clean and simple
• Visitors won’t get lost within the mess
• Looks classy
• Less likely to date (class is timeless)