Ida, this is so true. Over the last 9 months I took a class with a textbook and several shorter books. The textbook actually contained much welcomed humor and was formatted with pull-outs, artwork, photos and plenty of white space. It was NOT dumbed down; it provided much needed breathing room. I cannot remember a time I so thoroughly enjoyed an academic text.

The two supplemental books had good and worthy content, but I hated reading them. Text text text. Long paragraphs. Longer chapters. Wall to wall text. I've read other books with the same message, why another?

I will keep my textbook, but will give the other books away, if anyone will have them.

Linelle, that's so interesting. I never really considered how white spaces comes into play with written text, but I completely get it. I'm thinking of a particular poet right now - although I can't for the life of me remember her name. Her work is mostly just a few words typed in the middle of a page with a very large space around it. It's like the printing just absolutely sucks you right in. Her writing style is brilliant to begin with, and the way it's presented is perfect.

The un-designed area,

Great quote except for that. No area of the page is undesigned, whether or not there's printing on it.

White space is certainly useful in many areas. In print, it is not only respite but provides information: this little chunk of white space means a new paragraph is starting; this chunk of white space means we are starting the next step in a process; this bigger chunk indicates a whole new topic; this arrangement of chunks helps you line up information; and so on.

You see/hear white space in music, art, landscaping, theater, design. Scandinavian design especially takes advantage of white space. Building layouts call for white space, too, transition spaces.

Isn't there a music quote about silence/white space? I'll see if I can find it.

Writersblock, I think perhaps the writer simply chose the wrong phrase to express her meaning. I took it to mean the space that has not been filled with any element whatsoever. You are correct that the white space is an integral part of the design.

It is interesting how white space is a part of our lives in so many areas. It becomes rather fascinating to see it and hear it -- to look for it -- once you truly become aware of how much it surrounds us.

I've noticed white space most frequently in Japanese and Chinese art. It is especially important to the Japanese, and they call it Ma (間).

Google intentionally kept its search page simple and bare. A welcome respite from the cluttered and confusing look of aol and yahoo. Apple pays a lot of attention to keeping its products simple and uncluttered. With written text, it is not just the margins and visual clutter that makes it cumbersome, but the prose itself. The Economist is my favorite magazine, and it always amazes me how much substance is packed into its short, compact prose.

Great points! Have a colleague who thinks white space is just place where more words can be added, and she wonders "why people don't read (her) douments."

While I appreciate the sentiment about purposeful emptiness. I must admit that my preference in homes and pages comes more from the style of my favorite children's book "A Time to Keep". It is my favorite precisely because Tasha Tudor chose to fill her margin's with beautifully intricate and thougtful boarders. I prefer homes like this too rather than Scandinavian styled.

Yes - the eyes need a place to rest.