4 ms·

Fear of white space

12 points by bpedro 6y ago

leephillips 6y ago
I’m not sure I understand what’s happening here. Is the article just those two paragraphs? Does it include the “more from” stuff that follows the two paragraphs? There is only one main header. Is there is link to the real article? I couldn’t find it, although I tried some of the mysterious icons.
- AlexandrB 6y ago
  The article is just the two paragraph. But because separation of content on medium is achieved primarily with whitespace instead of more obvious affordances it's confusing as heck.
  - leephillips 6y ago
    Thanks for clearing that up for me.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  I really enjoyed the writing, and was confused and frustrated as heck by the interface.
jahbrewski 6y ago
Ah. I really enjoyed that.
RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
I don't know. One thing that is interesting is that the people who depend most on the UI to make huge monetary decisions (traders) seem to absolutely minimize white space. Look for example for screenshots of trading software, and you find an attempt to maximize the amount of information that is on the screen.
- deadA1ias 6y ago
  Because they're greatly prioritizing function over form.
- alanbernstein 6y ago
  I believe airplane and ship displays are similar, for what it's worth.
giancarlostoro 6y ago
> As you fill empty space with information or artifacts, the perceived value of your product decreases. Less is more in other words. Fascinating. I do love software that is Simple but having the power to switch into a power user type mode with much more available seems useful.
- Guest42 6y ago
  Agreed, I rather enjoy a well-thought and expressive set of menus with bland style. The best erp software I used was that way but everyone hated it because it was “old” even though it was lightning fast with 1200 concurrent users running on old hardware
  - giancarlostoro 6y ago
    Funnily enough I finally tried out Pidgin with a Slack plugin after years of not using Pidgin. While it's not the same experience, the memory use of 20MB of RAM vs 250MB+ that regular Slack uses is one hell of a difference. I'm definitely gaining a bigger interest in more 'native' languages. I figure Qt could produce a better memory experience than Elector on the other hand.
austincheney 6y ago
> Interestingly, it turns out that there is “a general inverse relationship between horror vacui and value perception” Here are some counter examples: * https://mydeutschlandblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/linderhof-castle-bavaria-11.jpg https://mydeutschlandblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/linder... * https://411design.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/german-castle.jpg https://411design.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/german-castle.... * https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V_XqJfdBdro/maxresdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V_XqJfdBdro/maxresdefault.jpg * http://www.hiddensecretstours.eu/img/w-900,h-750/2016-03-02/6858713079-6838102d54-b.jpg http://www.hiddensecretstours.eu/img/w-900,h-750/2016-03-02/... * https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/96/7b/dd967b766bc0a3a47a209bc16d5aa372.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/96/7b/dd967b766bc0a3a47a20... * https://i.pinimg.com/736x/22/95/a3/2295a3c4fc5afde296b531e5bf207b8a.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/22/95/a3/2295a3c4fc5afde296b531e5b... Other examples include grand mosques and Persian rugs.
chmod775 6y ago
The irony of this being posted on medium.com of all places with that theme is immeasurable.
pacifika 6y ago
White space has value in design just as it has in logos. It accentuates the other elements; allows for grouping and mental breathing space. This article presents a straw man argument of two extremes, it’s a nice observation but there is no takeaway.

12 points by bpedro 6y ago

I’m not sure I understand what’s happening here. Is the article just those two paragraphs? Does it include the “more from” stuff that follows the two paragraphs? There is only one main header. Is there is link to the real article? I couldn’t find it, although I tried some of the mysterious icons.

AlexandrB 6y ago
The article is just the two paragraph. But because separation of content on medium is achieved primarily with whitespace instead of more obvious affordances it's confusing as heck.
- leephillips 6y ago
  Thanks for clearing that up for me.
forgotmypw17 6y ago
I really enjoyed the writing, and was confused and frustrated as heck by the interface.

jahbrewski 6y ago

Ah. I really enjoyed that.

RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago

I don't know. One thing that is interesting is that the people who depend most on the UI to make huge monetary decisions (traders) seem to absolutely minimize white space. Look for example for screenshots of trading software, and you find an attempt to maximize the amount of information that is on the screen.

deadA1ias 6y ago
Because they're greatly prioritizing function over form.
alanbernstein 6y ago
I believe airplane and ship displays are similar, for what it's worth.

giancarlostoro 6y ago

> As you fill empty space with information or artifacts, the perceived value of your product decreases. Less is more in other words. Fascinating. I do love software that is Simple but having the power to switch into a power user type mode with much more available seems useful.

Guest42 6y ago
Agreed, I rather enjoy a well-thought and expressive set of menus with bland style. The best erp software I used was that way but everyone hated it because it was “old” even though it was lightning fast with 1200 concurrent users running on old hardware
- giancarlostoro 6y ago
  Funnily enough I finally tried out Pidgin with a Slack plugin after years of not using Pidgin. While it's not the same experience, the memory use of 20MB of RAM vs 250MB+ that regular Slack uses is one hell of a difference. I'm definitely gaining a bigger interest in more 'native' languages. I figure Qt could produce a better memory experience than Elector on the other hand.

austincheney 6y ago

> Interestingly, it turns out that there is “a general inverse relationship between horror vacui and value perception” Here are some counter examples: * https://mydeutschlandblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/linderhof-castle-bavaria-11.jpg https://mydeutschlandblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/linder... * https://411design.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/german-castle.jpg https://411design.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/german-castle.... * https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V_XqJfdBdro/maxresdefault.jpg https://i.ytimg.com/vi/V_XqJfdBdro/maxresdefault.jpg * http://www.hiddensecretstours.eu/img/w-900,h-750/2016-03-02/6858713079-6838102d54-b.jpg http://www.hiddensecretstours.eu/img/w-900,h-750/2016-03-02/... * https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/96/7b/dd967b766bc0a3a47a209bc16d5aa372.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dd/96/7b/dd967b766bc0a3a47a20... * https://i.pinimg.com/736x/22/95/a3/2295a3c4fc5afde296b531e5bf207b8a.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/736x/22/95/a3/2295a3c4fc5afde296b531e5b... Other examples include grand mosques and Persian rugs.

chmod775 6y ago

The irony of this being posted on medium.com of all places with that theme is immeasurable.

pacifika 6y ago

White space has value in design just as it has in logos. It accentuates the other elements; allows for grouping and mental breathing space. This article presents a straw man argument of two extremes, it’s a nice observation but there is no takeaway.