Eschew Obfuscation

My life is full of activity these days. With “older” kids, each having their own interests, deadlines, and responsibilities, there is a constant struggle to hold on to “empty space” in my schedule. It’s tempting to fill it with activities with friends we haven’t seen, or a trip to town on the weekend, or to agree to volunteer for one more project or person to help out in my spare time. The reality is, however, that the more that I cram into my days, the more scattered and tired I become. My attention is pulled in many directions, and I find myself forgetting about the important things in my day. I miss the details.

The same thing happens in good design.

The temptation is to add more details, more information, more stuff. We don’t want to leave anything out, or create ambiguity. If a design is too simple, it could be mistaken for laziness as a designer, or lesser skill. Did we communicate everything we needed to communicate?

If we fail to leave “white space,” however…room to breathe, room to pause, room to see the images and details that ARE important…we can leave our audience scattered and confused. The design can simply…fail.

A high school teacher of mine had a plaque on the wall of his classroom that said it best:

Eschew Obfuscation.

Don’t be afraid to let your design have white space. Let it breathe. Avoid confusion.