The Importance of White Space

One of the most basic aspects of your scrapbook page design is how you arrange the elements on the page. Elements include photos, background, type (journaling, title), blocks of color, frames, embellishments of any kind including stamped images, ribbons, flowers, rhinestones etc etc. One of the main design points to remember is don’t crowd. A cluttered layout can be unattractive and hard to ‘read’.

Empty space on your layout is actually a good thing! Empty space can be an important element in your page design. White space or empty space can make a dramatic impact on your layout. Here is a layout created by Kris showing how white space can pack a punch – If a layout is crammed there is no where for the eye to rest. ‘White space’ or ‘negative space’ is a technique used in advertising and magazine layouts. Basically it means that by leaving plenty of space around your focal subject, the viewer’s eye is not confused and is drawn automatically to your point of focus. It also means that the layout design is more restful to the eye as it is not darting about all over the page, trying to take in all that there is to see. Here is a layout by Dawn which is a great example of the effective use of white space. Whitespace does not have to be white. Colored backgrounds are nice, too. Such as in this layout by Kathryn – When you fill up a page it’s hard to look at because there are so many elements competing for your attention. You do need to leave some space on your layout. You want your scrapbooking products to enhance rather than overtake as in Nat’s layout here.
White space can be space around or inside a picture, or between the elements of the page. It is easy to concentrate on what you are putting onto a layout, to the point that you ignore what you ought to leave out. Whitespace can give the viewer a reason to flow from one photo or point to another. Whitespace does not have to be large.

Another way to use white space on your layout is to group your elements into the center of the page and use the empty, or white space as a frame as Ames has done in this layout.
So break out of the mindset that every empty space on your layout must be filled. Giving the eye a place to rest can actually help emphasize the more important parts of your layout. Less is most often more in many cases.

My example of white space.