Designers are conscious of the value of white space on a page. It seems to me that white space is a universal concept that goes beyond page layout - it's the concept often described as 'less is more'.
- Novice writers and bloggers often forget to break up long paragraphs. (Look at any newspaper to see how it should be done.) Nothing reveals an amateur more readily than too many words.
- The conventional two week summer vacation provides white space in busy working and domestic lives (so please turn off your phone and try to avoid the newspapers too).
- In a busy, noisy world, silence is sometimes the best way to make a loud statement. (Tip: don't raise your voice to quieten a roomful of schoolchildren or students: give them the silent treatment instead. It works.)
- Don't always assume that exposure is a good thing. Kate Moss doesn't appear in the newspapers any less because she refuses to give interviews. Less is more.
- How to avoid becoming overstretched by spreading yourself too thinly across social media spaces? Jim Horton recommends focusing on the relationships that matter in his latest white paper.
The bit about new bloggers is certainly true, Richard. I try to keep my blog entries at 200-300 words now, I feel this keeps readers interest and makes the blog appear more readable.
Posted by: Ben Cotton | Tuesday, August 04, 2009 at 07:02 PM
We can try. When I set up my blog six years ago, I set a limit of four short paragraphs for each post (it's in my About entry.
I've broken that golden rule many times, most recently about ten minutes ago...
We can only try, and try and try.
Posted by: Richard Bailey | Tuesday, August 04, 2009 at 07:14 PM
I like this 'white space', Richard.
Posted by: Ya Chi Kao | Thursday, August 06, 2009 at 05:27 AM