While leafing through an issue of BtoB, I once found a Chasers column entitled, “Give me some space, please.”
It read, in part:
Clutter in an ad is more than a nuisance; it can be enough of a distraction to drive a reader from the page. Advertisers are justifiably proud of their product or service and are eager to tell a target audience about it.
But they need to resist the temptation to say too much or to display too much in an ad. Let the ad breathe a bit. An extra dose of white space can often make the difference between an ad that overwhelms readers with clutter and one that connects with them.
I think most would agree that white space is a good thing. But clutter happens — even with the best of marketing intentions. With the cost of producing, placing and delivering marketing communications, it’s common to want to cram more into each piece.
Neil Sagebiel 