We have all heard this phrase over and over again “less is more”. Most people, including maybe some of our clients, don’t really understand the point of it. People don’t really know the power of white space, more over, they are terribly afraid of it. I see this happening every day, when flyers, posters, brochures, and even business cards are filled with design elements and information to the last corner. The reality is that white space is powerful, more powerful than you think. It does not only allow a good legibility, but can carry a strong emotional message. It can create and environment, a sensation and contrast, just by interacting with another design elements.

I know that sometimes it is hard to convince clients of leaving white space. Why? because most people feel that they are paying for that space, and that white space is being wasted, unused. As designers, we need to teach our clients what we know and explain why our proposals and what we choose for them, is a good idea. This of course thinking that we have been working with strategy, being conscious of the brand, communication objectives, etc.

By saying less is more, we are also saying the simpler the design, the better. But, in order to have a simple, clean design, you have to have a good idea behind it. Otherwise, simplicity, white space, and all the concepts we are talking about, mean nothing. A good concept is able to support the idea and will inspire a good design. I say this to my clients everyday: think first, make strategic decisions, what is best for you and your company, then we will start designing. Having a strong and solid concept will help the company and it will make the designers’ life better. In addition to this, having a concept behind the design inspires us to find creative solutions to communicate that specific concept, rather than having no idea and having to design by guessing… if we do the last, what will probably happen is that we will design a million ideas, a thousands of logos and non will do the trick. The client will not be able to choose the right design alternative if they don’t know what they need. Designers need to help their clients figure things out, first by talking about the concept behind and their strategic needs, and then by designing.

I wanted to give you a good example of “less is more” and I found a great piece I want to share with you.  The image above is a screen shot of a very nicely done motion graphic piece that I am including in this post. It is not my pice, it was done by Colin Trenter, but I always like to search for inspiration; designs that remind me to stay creative and also remind me of the things I learned at school. I have always said “don’t copy, research and search for inspiration and always, always respect other peoples’ work”. In this post, I wanted to talk about simple design, about putting less noise in the screen or paper and support every element with a strong message and a reason to be there. This is a good example and I am sure there is plenty more out there, so I encourage you to find them and be inspired by those well done designs.

This example piece is a good design done with simple geometric elements. Every single element in this animation is tied together by a concept: the music, the forms, the colors, the background, and the voice-over. They used the “white space” to create and environment and enough contrast to make the main character (the circle) pop. It is a simple, clean design with a specific well thought idea behind it. I hope you like it and inspire you to really concentrate on the concept behind each of your creations, in order to do simple, well thought, clean designs with strong personality.

Let’s go back to simple!