Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 228
206-233 03171.indd 228 9/23/11 5:25 PM
Text
Job:03171 Title:Typography Referenced (Rockport)
Page: 228
228
Typography, Referenced
D
esigners call compositional
areas that do not include
text, image, or graphic ele-
ments white space or negative
space. Some designers feel that using
white space lends a degree of sophisti-
cation to layouts, in contrast to layouts
with too many graphic elements.
Formally, white space allows the reader
an opportunity to focus on the element or
elements that demand the most attention.
Conceptually, white space can further an
underlying message the designer hopes to
communicate to the viewer. Despite these
issues, designers should use white space
sparingly and functionally, as too much
can make a composition look sterile.
TYPOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLES
White Space
The “Faces” annual report for the Adris Group (done in Gotham Bold and Minion Pro) personifi es the company
with the jacket photographs, while the inside text layout calmly positions the past year’s fi nancial summary
and future outlook amidst crisp areas of negative space. Bruketa&Žinić , Croatia.
Although not technically
white space, the black lower
half of the Postmortem
book cover interferes with
the illustration to let fl at
typography (in Franklin
Gothic) leap to the surface
and identify both the title
and author. This juxtapo-
sition helps the reader zero
in on the text, and the dark
void doubles as a concep-
tual tool alluding to the
book’s content. AdamsMo-
rioka, Inc., United States.
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