Marketing has become nothing short of a struggle for customer attention. Or rather, a fight for a small space on the customer’s screens. So, every bit of appearance your brand makes counts. Why not make that appearance more impactful? Every bit of space counts. Even negative space. 

A negative space is technically the space where there is no text or imagery in the design. It is the ‘free’ space or white space that is left blank, intentionally. What if you could make even the negative spaces in your design talk for your brand? Wouldn’t it be a brilliant use of space? That’s what many designers do, especially when designing logos or minimalistic ads. 

You might find designers using a little extra blank space to create minimalistic designs. Or they might create eye-grabbing details by using these spaces. Both these uses of negative space work well in graphic design. 

And why should you worry about negative space?

In a design, you add the required imagery and the font. Together they convey the information. So, every bit of space that is there outside of these elements merely exists, right? Well, you can make even those extra spaces work for you. After all, good graphic design is about getting your message across, as clearly as possible, without sacrificing the visual appeal. So, if negative spaces let you squeeze in an additional layer of information, why not make the most of it? 

Notice the bauble in the above image. Trying to squeeze in a cheerful Christmas scene the traditional way, with outline and colors will have made the design look crowded. Using negative space made it possible to create the intended effect while also keeping the design minimal. Subtle design twists like these actually make a statement. They are what help your ads stand out. Other than such creative use of these spaces, there are some essential reasons why every visually appealing design has negative spaces.

Here are a few of them: 

• Sufficient negative space in typography can boost legibility.

• Efficient use of negative spaces helps create hierarchy in the design. 

• Emphasizing particular sections or elements in the design requires the right use of white space.

• When you have multiple types of visual elements like symbols, illustrations, and text coming together, proper use of negative spaces helps create harmony. 

Positive results with negative spaces: a few examples to inspire you 

The use of negative space makes it possible for you to keep the designs concise while also conveying the point. Visual clutter can deter the effect. Customers like to see clean and straightforward designs. So, to get your image to tell a powerful message, negative spaces can be of great help. To make it easier for you to understand the above benefits, let’s take a look at some designs that incorporate a message by manipulating negative space. 

1. Add character to your designs

In the above image, an eye alone, without the hand imagery, might have made it look like any other eye care brand logo. However, in the above design, creating the eye design in the negative space between the hands makes it unique. The cupped hands symbolize a protective gesture, thus adding more character to the design. 

2. Bring typography to life 

Using too many font styles or variations can cause distractions for the viewer. But limiting the font styles makes it more challenging to create a visual hook. That’s where the creative use of negative space comes to the rescue. The stylized negative space in the letter ‘A’ in the image above shows how such small variations can enhance the aesthetics of the typography. 

3. Create visually memorable designs 

The best way to advertise a product is to feature the product in your ad. But what if it is a very common product? Your audience might see a lot of ads featuring it. As in the example above, eyewear ads are common and they all feature glasses. So, this design uses negative space to create a unique look and feel. Such ads will be easier to remember, simply because they are not the usual kind that customers see everywhere. 

It is not just about ads, you can also use this design principle while designing social media posts to engage your audience. On Facebook, the engagement rate of posts with images is 2.3 times better than that for text-only posts. So, every brand uses social media images. You will want your designs to be truly unique to be able to capture your audience's attention amidst the rapidly growing reserve of images on social media. 

4. Maintain a minimalistic theme 

If you look at the image above, it has an overall clean and minimalistic appeal. Adding a conventional book symbol might have affected this. The book design within the ‘B’ helps add a symbol for emphasis while also keeping things simple. In fact, achieving minimalism in design is one main reason why many designers use negative spaces. 

5. Capture many details 

You only see the brand name in the above logo. But the maple leaf formed in the negative space might have probably already made you guess that it is a Canadian brand. The power of conveying an additional detail without using words or without having to include additional imagery is huge. 

6. Create visual balance 

Despite the use of a large text section, the above billboard appears clean and well-balanced. The negative space on the left has a strong role to play. When you have a lot of information to convey and when you have to do it without losing the perception of visual balance, use negative space. 

7. Simplify brand messaging 

General Motors rebranded recently. The all-new logo of the brand incorporates a symbol of an electric plug, in the negative space within the letter ‘m’. This symbolizes the brand’s shift towards electric vehicles. Seamlessly incorporating brand messaging is important in a logo design. So, in places like these, the wise use of negative spaces can make a huge impact. 

8. Get to the CTA without any fluff

In designs like landing pages, getting customers to click the CTA is the primary goal. Keeping the landing page informative is important. But for the ones designed to gather information, like lead capture landing pages, the customer has to respond by filling in some details, like name and contact information. 

Adding unnecessary information on these pages might distract customers. And sometimes they forget why they are there and what they have to do next. That’s where the use of negative spaces to direct the focus to the CTA section will make the page more effective. The example below perfectly captures this idea. 

FAQs

1. How can you include your brand’s visual style while using negative spaces?

   As you can see, most of the utilization of negative space tries to eliminate unwanted details in the image. And you will notice the use of fewer colors in the design. Most of the time it is either just one or two colors. Does that mean you will have to compromise on your brand’s visual style while innovating with negative spaces? Not at all. In fact, you will be able to establish stronger branding with this concept. 

   
   

   Use your brand’s primary color palette alone. The spaces can accent your brand colors and avoid distracting details. If you have a wider color palette for your brand with more than two colors, using gradients to create a flawless transition will be another way to keep the design minimalistic. Sounds a bit too complicated? This where working with a professional Graphic Design Services can go a long way.

2. In what kind of designs can you put negative space to good use?

Everywhere, from website design to landing pages, emails, logos, posters, billboards, social media ads, packaging designs, and podcast covers. Any kind of design that is required to be brief yet impactful can be made more aesthetic with the right use of negative space. 

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