Design issue: Why white space?

Good design principles are the underlying framework upon which your piece is founded. Knowing the rules - and when to break them - can make your piece easier to read and much more powerful.

White space - or the space around the type and graphics - is an essential element in any design. Its a very difficult concept for the inexperienced designer to grasp. Wide margins , the choice of type, and the choice of structural lines all help to create a clean, light feel. Pages that are heavy in text can appear crowded and cramped. Too much text can overwhelm your reader. Especially, if there's a lot of bold text or a profusion of font types. Stick with two or, at the very most, three fonts in your newsletter. Use bold text very sparingly. It's only for emphasis.

When you allow for space to breathe around your text, it becomes much more readable. If you find that you have just too much text. Its time to edit. Most newsletter articles should be 500 to 700 words in length. If you've got more than that, divide the article into two and save some for the next issue.

The use of images and graphics helps to break up blocks of text. This makes the story more interesting and less intimidating. If print production allows, let some of your images bleed off the page. This is a designer's trick to anchor an image and bring stability to your design. You don't want your images and articles to seem to be floating around haplessly in white space. You want it to look like they have a home and plenty of space to unfold their story.

A simple rule of thumb that designers use is the 70/30 test. When you squint your eyes and look at your piece, it should look like there's about 30% white space on the page. Another design rule of thumb that's nice to remember for you newsletter is similar. You want to have about 30% graphics (or photos) to balance the text.

Remember the point of your newsletter is to bring you credibility and make you look professional. Taking care with your layout and using solid design principles will set you way above the rest of the pack.