What Is White Space in Design? 6 Examples You Never Noticed

What is White Space in Design? Let’s answer this question with an example: Imagine walking through a forest, no concrete, no traffic, no construction. Just a narrow path and tall birch trees standing quietly on both sides.

Why do we love that feeling so much? The answer is white space. The deep green forest around the single path, the silence, the clarity of having just one direction to follow, that’s what white space is and it makes the path exist, breathe, and stand out.

Now compare that to a road full of vehicles, houses, signboards, and sound. Why doesn’t it feel the same? Because everything is competing for your attention. Too many shapes, too many colors, too much noise.

Our brains weren’t designed for this level of chaos. We evolved around nature, not traffic, so our minds still relate peace with openness, space, and simplicity… not clutter.

Similarly, some designers are obsessed with adding everything in a design: fonts, colors, and icons, all competing for attention but nothing standing out. They miss one very important aspect of design that nature taught us long ago: white space(also called negative space).

White space is like giving oxygen to your designs through visual communication. It’s utilisation is what make great designers stand out from the crowd.

At Emoris, we will help you understand how less is more and how effective use of white space can transform your everyday design experiences into something very meaningful.

Why “Less is More” in Design?

Your brain can process 60000 times faster seeing visuals in comparison to text because our eyes are designed to quickly scan first and then out the details later. According to psychologists, if we see too many elements or cramped text on one page/screen, our brain gets “cognitive load”.

This is the reason you feel anxious when you see a messy room, or you feel calm when you see a settled space. A messy design loses the users’ focus, trust, and patience, making their attention span drop sharply.

When design elements have good space and has organised content, our brain stays in control (and rests) as it doesn’t have to work too hard to understand and process information. So the next time you’re designing something, make sure to follow the “less is more” principle.

Bonus tip: after you’ve designed your poster, logo or whatever, make a copy of it and start removing elements and see if the design still works. If it still does then ask yourself why were you using the additional elements.

6 White Space Examples Hiding in Plain Sight

1. Magazine Cover of National Geographic

It focuses on simplicity; therefore, National Geographic Magazine covers are famous worldwide. Their designers avoid cluttering with many visuals and headlines; instead, they use stunning images that dominate in entire frame. For example, a design with a child’s curious eyes or a lion’s piercing gaze with a generous margin is very impactful.

This is the way, white space in design can amplify the story entirely, and a photograph to draw the focus where it is exactly needed. Therefore, the effective use of white space creates strong emotions in the finest design.

2. Store Design of Uniqlo

Have you ever visited any Uniqlo store? You will surely observe something unusual compared to other retailers. Their stores are open, clean, and free from useless decoration, where the air feels unique and different. All items in the store have precise breathing space between them.

Basically, Uniqlo uses minimalist design psychology experientially, not visually. This uncluttered design decreases stress and creates a sense of order; therefore, customers stay with them for a longer period.

This is the master example where the importance of white space wins not just for aesthetics but for behaviour, feeling, and emotions.

3. The Calm Application

When you open the Calm app on your device, it will give breathing space to your mind with gentle animation, soft ingredients, and especially plenty of space in its layout. It lacks information overload and button flashes to make the brain anxious.

The visual balance in design clearly describes the purpose of the product with a deeper sense of peace. The interfaces that follow the policy of white space in design become successful in mirroring the purpose of the product or service with mental stillness and peace of mind.

The white space in design is not a space in design; rather, it is an intentional silent space that turns the feeling into calmness, just like its name. The effective use of white space is the trick used by designers to convey the message accurately.

4. The London Underground Map

It is a clear symbol of clarity in complexity because it is considered one of the good design examples, first designed by Harry Beck in 1931 as the London Tube Map. It is all about space. A perfect visual balance was created by Beck for clarity, and it is not geographically correct but people still reach destionations perfectly, magic isn’t it?

He used the color-coded lines in design with clean typographic elements to make the design more intuitive. All stations were distributed evenly, unlike to real distribution, to reflect the importance of white space in design.

5. Restaurant Menus with Intentional Minimalism

Have you ever observed how luxury restaurants mostly use clean and short menus with generous white space and minimal text? It is not just elegance but a perfect example of how design psychology is utilised through white space.

Designers utilises white space by reducing visual clutter to show confidence and exclusivity. The space in the menu shows that each dish is very special. This is a real-world example of minimalist design psychology where emotions and perceptions influence the customers extraordinarily.

6. The Packaging of Aesop

Do you want to see a master class in how white space in design communicates confidence in a brand? Let’s give you an example of Aesop packaging that is a symbol of personality. Every product has balanced typography, sufficient space, and breathing room around every design element.

It gives visual balance in design to give all items a crafted, personalized experience. This minimalist design does not scream for customer attention; rather, it whispers feel luxurious. This is the secret code of minimalist design psychology, where less noise is required for deep emotions for a particular brand.

Conclusion: Why White Space Feels So Human?

White space in design is visual empathy at its core. Its importance mirrors how our mind processes the world: through pauses in visuals. When there is little or no space, it feels like someone talking too fast and never stopping to breathe.

White balance in design is not an artistic choice, it is a human one. It supports the mental wellness of users, helps them remember longer, and makes them feel calmer.

For designers, space is a quiet companion in a world overflowing with visuals and noise. White space is never truly empty but full of purpose. Users learn calm through minimalist design psychology, the absence of clutter and the presence of intention.

Design is always connected to people, and sometimes the most powerful part isn’t what we add to it, but what we choose to leave.