Let’s do a quick experiment. In which of the following examples is the name “John Smith” more apparent?
John Smith
or:
Example Enterprises Senior VP of Sales John Smith To Contact Email, Fax, Call Cell Phone
The first one, right?
That’s due to the beauty of white space. White space is basically the blank part on a business card or printed promotional products.
The purpose of white space is to direct attention to the part of the business card that isn’t blank. That’s why it’s easier to see our friend John’s name in the first example than the second. There is more blank space surrounding it, so the eye automatically goes right to the non-blank section.
The white space also makes a business card or promo product seem much more professional. Think about spammy emails. That type of junk mail attempts to squeeze in as much flair, color, and information as possible into a small space. That’s not professional.
White space indicates that the owner of the card is smart and competent enough to decide what is most useful for the customer to know. This puts out a good message about a business’s goods and services and how the company handles their customers.
For more on designing business cards, check out “Tips for Competition-Shattering Business Cards“.
