Try this tip from design.
Years ago I had a job that gave me a good education in print production. I learned a lot about saddle stitching, ink color, line spacing, kerning, typeface — all these intimate design elements that, when properly arranged on a page, make the page a pleasure to read.
One idea that stayed with me is the principle of white space. A good layout should have room and margin. Space unfilled with any content. An ideal page is balanced, open, uncluttered. It’s pleasing to the eye. It invites the reader in. It’s easy to follow. On the contrary, a dense page is formidable. Our eyes glaze over the big columns of text. We skim.
I was once networking with a man who took my resume and promptly set it down when his eyes went cross. Without mincing words, he said, You got too much going on here.
Well, there you go.
The idea is; if you’re designing a page, allow room, let the text breathe – give the reader some visual relief. I like the principle because it holds up well across life. Our minds need white space. Our schedules need white space.
Twice this week someone’s told me they feel like they’ve got a million things to do. I know the feeling. There’s a great deal of pressure to be productive, and a day, like a page, all too easily fills with things to do. Yet sometimes our best ideas, our most important insights arrive in the gaps, when we give them space, when we put our rushing to rest.
White space. A page with space is easier to read and a life with space is easier to live. Leave room in the day. See what happens. Instead of skimming life we might read it with an eager eye.
show & tell 