Handling White Space: Website Designs with an Open Feeling
When it comes to user experience we always try to incorporate into a project such tiny yet showy details as custom preloaders, informative splash screens, pop-up windows or opening animations with brand identity, so to speak paying attention to the smallest things as well as following trends that can add the wow factor. Nevertheless, in general, we forget about one simple yet fundamental factor that makes the whole difference: white space. Although it seems that it is as old as the hills and does not bear anything interesting and distinctive, that is not completely true.
For example, excellent readability of a website crucially depends on this aspect. Moreover, there are lots of other essential elements of a design that benefit from it, like call-to-action buttons, taglines and so on. Today’s post aims to show this via live examples by presenting 20 fresh and splendid website designs. They have a powerful open feeling achieved through a masterful handling of white space.
White Space in Web Design
Creybot
Creybot clearly states the philosophy of the project. The front page looks extremely spacious with lots of fresh air to breathe easily. Opting in favor of the minimal solution and flat style lets the artist achieve an absolute harmony that appeals to the online audience.
Hayden Bleasel
Hayden Bleasel leverages a picturesque image background that gives the design a nice natural feeling. Although it instantly strikes the eye, yet a concise tagline in a sophisticated ultra-narrow type that sits in the middle of the page and is surrounded by white space allows the designer to provide the homepage with an extra open feeling and put content above all else.
Alpha Design Agency
Alpha Design Agency easily reflects the spirit of the company. Much like the previous example, the designer skillfully plays with a monochromatic color scheme and goes for subtle typography and a streamlined navigation bar in order to give the homepage a strong open feel.
Bolds Talent
Bare use of color, clean monotone background, refined ghost buttons, several short sentences, and, of course, a ton of white space makes the landing page look straightforward to the user. Such tricks help to naturally direct the whole attention to CTAs and convey the necessary message.
Frank Collective
Frank Collective has 2 main navigations. The first one is hidden under a hamburger button, and the second one takes up quite a lot of space on the left side. Thanks to a bulk of white space and the absence of any image backdrops or decorative elements, the list-style menu becomes the focal point of the page.
Artistide Benoist
Artistide Benoist prefers to utilize as much white space as possible, filling almost each section with a ton of it. As a result, the website can be quickly scanned. The approach perfectly collaborates with the horizontal striped layout, easily giving the content the dominant position.
Berengere Audo
The personal portfolio of Berengere Audo does not have a typical design; the artist has managed to break away from other competitors through skillful manipulations with white space. As a result, the front page looks pretty spacious and clean, whereas a friendly animation spices up the overall atmosphere.
Engzell
Engzell welcomes online visitors with a sophisticated ‘Welcome’ section that features a magnificent grunge tagline that adds an ornate touch to the aesthetics. The designer demonstrates how to easily put an accent on the phrase, and at the same time, save the page from a messy look only by using white space.
Motocharts
Thanks to a generous amount of white space and stark contrast between background and foreground, Motocharts has managed to direct the whole attention towards the search box that sits right in the heart of the page and serves as the main navigation tool through the project.
Neil O’Reilly
Neil O’Reilly has successfully nailed a minimalistic design, making his online portfolio stand out from the crowd. ‘Less is more’ is about this project. Classic coloring has never failed before and this case is no exception. It enhances the aesthetics of the first section and strengthens the overall impression.
Myluck
Myluck employs quite an interesting solution: every section is based on a 2-tone color palette and plenty of white space that dishes up content in a pleasant manner. In such a way, the designer has managed to highlight key features and put emphasis on the most important things.
Echo Brickell
Echo Brickell has succeeded in balancing lots of spectacular images that present navigation through the portfolio section. Thanks to one-word titles, tiny accompanying intelligent glyphs and lots of white space, the page does not overwhelm users, and, on the contrary, draws the attention towards the fantastic pieces.
Mikii
The main title immediately catches the eye due to its boldness and the properly selected environment. The latter is based on a lush, heavily darkened image backdrop, and features a tiny flat logotype and streamlined navigation bar tightly placed at the top. Here white space reinforce the overall effect.
Redbadge
Much like in the previous example, Redbadge has managed to naturally intensify the chief tagline and give it the number one priority by utilizing plenty of white space. What’s more, micro navicon and small yet eye-catching text-based logotype also come to the fore.
We Are Marketing
The modular layout is nothing without well-thought-out gutters, paddings, and, of course, white space. Although it can delineate the content as well as partially sort out the chaos, it will still look like a mess if the designer ignores these factors. We Are Marketing shows how to properly take into account those 3 and use a grid system in the best way.
L’Avenir
L’Avenir charms with its clean whitish appearance that exudes an image of purity and stately beauty. Although the tagline slightly blends with the composition, it is still able to grab attention. A wealth of white space certainly sets the design apart from others.
Charlie Deets
Charlie Deets’ online portfolio has a friendly atmosphere and an element of playfulness that prepossesses online visitors and encourages them to move forward. A considerable amount of white space works well in this context, giving the design a lovely open feeling and providing the content with a solid foundation.
Masi Tupungato
Masi Tupungato is another great example in our collection that demonstrates that 4 lavish images placed within one page not only can convey messages but also create a balanced and structured layout. Of course, the effect is achieved through a well-thought-out amount of white space, sleek ultra-narrow type and tiny hamburger button that all together do not divert the attention.
Truth Labs
Truth Labs has a front page where you can feel comfortable and peaceful. Although it is based on a solid color backdrop and features nothing more than just one bold tagline, it does not look boring at all. The small yet captivating animation saves the day.
Andrew McWatters
The landing page of the personal portfolio of Andrew McWatters owes its visually appealing appearance to the ‘Less is more’ philosophy. By maintaining an optimal balance between content and backdrop, the artist has managed to make the introduction section the center of attention.
Conclusion
Whether you need to display lots of visuals in an understated manner or gently guide the whole attention to the selected part of the page, all you have to do is properly handle white space. It is the cheapest and most time-tested solution for achieving that.
I hope our 20 different examples have managed to demonstrate the benefits of mastering this basic yet key constituent.
