Positive & Negative Space in Design

Negative space, also known as white space, is an empty area around, between, and inside the text, images, and graphic elements. It creates breathing room for all objects on a page, makes the design more comfortable to scan, and adds emphasis and clarity.

Negative space works because of Gestalt principles.^[2] Grouping elements is in human nature. We subconsciously arrange the elements we see into an organized system that creates a whole. Empty spaces in a layout help this grouping by creating clear boundaries between those design elements.

If negative space is an empty area around UI elements, positive space is the actual UI elements — the essence and the focus of the design. It can take any shape or form, geometric or organic, solid or outlined. Just as there's no light without darkness, there's no positive space without negative space — they're codependent.

Negative space can be active or passive. Active negative space is applied deliberately to emphasize a particular design element or layout area. The emptiness created by large negative space acts as an element of its own. Active negative space enhances the appearance of elements and draws users' attention to them.

Passive negative space is the space between elements — such as text and icons — that helps arrange them in a balanced way. It doesn't act as an element of its own, but rather keeps the composition from appearing too cluttered. Think of passive negative space as oxygen — you don't notice it until there's too little of it.

Many elements consist of positive space. A simple 2-dimensional geometric shape like the Heart icon is one of the most common examples of positive space. Designers can use a positive space shape independently as an icon or as part of a more complex component.

It's also possible to use negative space to create elements. In this example, the counter form occupies the space around the heart outline, creating a unified image. Without the colored counter form, the design would look as white as snow. This shows how powerful negative space can be!

Increasing the space between paragraphs or headlines is an example of applying active negative space to text. This helps us separate different ideas and emphasize the headline's importance. Notice how just a bit more space makes the headline stand out that much more from the body text.

Passive negative space is the empty space that surrounds and separates text without calling attention to itself. In text, it shows up as line spacing, padding, and margins. It helps reduce eye strain, makes content easier to scan, and gives the layout a clean, calm feel. Without it, the page can feel cluttered and hard to read.

As designers, we should leverage both positive and negative space when creating layouts. This allows us to tell a harmonious, logical, and complete story. However, we may want to create focus first — and that's what positive space helps achieve.

In the example, the composition draws users' attention to the black and red blocks. At the same time, passive negative space subtly separates them.

Active negative space acts as an element in and of itself. In this layout, the negative space is quite visible — it leaves room for the other design elements to breathe.

In a simplistic design like this, it's important to separate content groups. On this webpage, the headline, body, navigational icons, and hero image are clearly differentiated by the white space surrounding them.

Active negative space on a web page aims to direct focus on a specific area. At the same time, it adds breathing room around the elements. As a result, the message you're trying to communicate becomes much clearer to the audience.

As in many things, it's important not to go overboard. Too much active negative space can distract users and make them lose focus and interest.

Passive negative space in web design doesn't emphasize elements. Its role is to add distance between elements within the same logical group to prevent the design from feeling cluttered and aid in things like readability.

In the example, we identify the title and image as related due to the modest spacing.