My husband finds this very funny since in the non graphic design realm, I am a very messy person, but I am a huge proponent of decluttering your marketing materials. 

This can be a hard one for some small business people to swallow, but you don’t have to fill every inch of your ad/brochure/postcard with text or images.  Yes, you are paying for that space whether via ad buys or printing costs.  But if you don’t leave white space on your piece, chances are the people you want to see it will just move on by and not give it a second glance.  Our minds need a place to rest when looking at something graphic.  Also, if you put too much on the piece, you are taking attention away from what might really be the piece of important information to get out to your clients.

I like to use the difference between Target and Kmart to get this point across to my clients.  Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with Target.  Love to shop there, but hate that I go into the Brighton store for a toothbrush and come out with $100 in stuff.  They are evil geniuses who have arranged their stores in such a way to make me want to buy from them.  The stores are clean, well organized and spaced out enough so I don’t feel overwhelmed when I’m there.  It’s comfortable to browse and although it’s a discount store, it doesn’t feel “cheap”. 

Kmart on the other hand doesn’t give me that warm fuzzy feeling.  I can go into a Kmart and come quickly back out with just the toothbrush.  Granted, they have been trying to change this in recent years, but compared to Target, their stores are cluttered and claustrophobic.

Marketing materials without adequate white space create the same cluttered and claustrophobic effect.  They make your audience uncomfortable.  And since your audience is potential customers – it’s generally best to not make them uncomfortable.

What do you think?  Is it hard for you to resist the urge to put as much information as possible into your marketing materials and take up all available real estate?

Advertisement