Negative is all the white space that doesn’t get filled up with content, images, etc. It’s literally the part of a design where there is nothing. However, that nothing is important. More so than you probably ever realized.

The white space can guide the eye and tell a viewer where it is important to look. It can be the focal point, or pull the eye in a given direction. Think about the arrow that is formed between the E and the x in the FedEx logo. It sends a message, despite the fact that there really isn’t anything there.

You don’t have to have incredible design skills to utilize a tool like negative space. It’s something that anyone can do. Look at your page or screen and see where your eye is drawn to. If you need to play around with where you placed things to make it flow better, then do so. You can turn to your own inbox, to see how others are taking advantage of negative space in their designs. Learn from what works and what doesn’t work.

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