lesson 3.4 - design principles: amount of information & whitespace
Clutter kills apps! A fun, practical lesson on using White Space to save your UI designs. Less really is more. Ideal for BTEC DIT Component 1.
Imagine walking into a room where every inch of the floor is covered in clothes, books, and plates. It’s stressful, right? Now imagine a clean room with everything in its place, well organised. That feeling of calm is exactly what we want to create for users on a screen. Today, we are looking at the art of digital decluttering. You will learn why "empty" space is actually one of the most powerful tools you have, and how showing less information can actually help your users achieve more.
Learning Outcomes
The Building Blocks (Factual Knowledge)
The Connections and Theories (Conceptual Knowledge)
The Skills and Methods (Procedural Knowledge)
Recall the definition of white spaceI have no idea what this means (or negative space) in user interface design.
Describe the difference between a cluttered interface and a clean interface.
Identify examples of essential versus non-essential information on a given screen.
The Connections and Theories (Conceptual Knowledge)
Analyse how the amount of information displayed affects the user's ability to process tasks quickly (cognitive loadI have no idea what this means).
Evaluate the impact of insufficient white space on readabilityI have no idea what this means and user frustration.
Explain the relationship between white space and the visual hierarchyI have no idea what this means of a page.
The Skills and Methods (Procedural Knowledge)
Apply techniques to remove unnecessary elements from a wireframe without losing functionality.
Create a redesigned interface layout that utilises white space to group related objects effectively.
Digital Skill Focus: Problem Solving: Designing solutions to real-world problems.
Less is More: The Power of Nothing
Have you ever tried to read a textbook where the text is tiny and crammed right to the edges of the page? It gives you a headache just looking at it. In User Interface design, the empty space between things is just as important as the things themselves. This is called white spaceI have no idea what this means (or negative spaceI have no idea what this means), and it is the secret sauce that makes professional apps look "clean" and easy to use.
1
What is White Space?
White spaceI have no idea what this means is simply the area on a screen that is left empty. It is the space between graphics, margins, columns, and lines of text.
Important Note: White space does not have to be white! If your background is blue, the "white space" is blue. It just means "empty of content".
2
Why do we need it?
Imagine a music festival. If everyone is crushed together in a mosh pit, you can't move or see your friends. If everyone is spread out on the grass, you can relax and find people easily.
Reduces Cognitive Load: Too much information forces the user's brain to work too hard. Clutter kills user satisfaction.
Creates Visual Hierarchy: Surrounding an important button (like "Buy Now") with empty space draws the user attention straight to it.
Improves Readability: Good spacing between lines of text makes content faster to scan.
3
Controlling the Amount of Information
Just because you can show 50 buttons on one screen, doesn't mean you should.
The Audit: Look at every element on your screen and ask: "Is this absolutely essential for the user to do their job right now?" If the answer is no, move it to another page or a menu.
Grouping: Use white space to group related items together. You don't need a box around everything; the gap between items tells the brain they are separate. This is sometimes known as "The Law of Proximity".
Task The Invisible Border Challenge
You have been hired by Majestic Cinema to design the digital "E-Ticket" that appears on a user's phone. The manager wants a clean, modern look. She has banned the use of boxes, borders, and dividing lines. You must organise the information using only empty/white space.
1
Get Organised!
Open diagrams.net.
Find and drag a "Smartphone" container from the "Android" shapes library to represent your screen.
2
The Data Dump
Create text boxes for the following items and place them loosely on your canvas:
Movie: "Space Racer 3000"
Certificate: "12A"
Cinema: "Screen 4"
Seat: "G12"
Date: "Friday 15th Oct"
Time: "19:30"
"Scan Me" (Use a placeholder square for a QR code)
3
The Layout Strategy
Arrange the items inside your phone screen.
Group: Put related items close together (e.g., Date and Time should be neighbours).
Separate: Give the QR code plenty of room so it is easy to scan.
The Rule: You are NOT allowed to draw boxes around items or lines between them! Use gaps (white space) to show where one section ends and another begins.
4
Export
Export your diagram as an image file...
Choose File > Export as... > PNG...
Click Export
Give the image a suitable filename, maybe e-ticket.png
Make sure Where says Device.
Click Save and choose somewhere suitable to save it to.
...and share it with your teacher
Outcome: A well designed, balanced and clear "E-Ticket" suitable for fast and accurate reading and scanning.
Application to the Component Sample PSA
Component 1: Majestic Cinema (User Interface)
For the Majestic CinemaI have no idea what this means project, you are creating an interface for a self-service kiosk or app. The biggest risk here is "Information Overload". A single movie listing has a lot of data: Title, Certificate, Genre, Runtime, Synopsis, Director, Cast, and Screening Times. You must apply the principle of White SpaceI have no idea what this means to the "Movie Details" screen. Instead of listing every single actor and a full 500-word plot summary, you should select only the "Essential" information (Title, Time, Certificate) to display on the main list. Use white space to separate the movie posters so they don't look like a collage. This ensures the user can quickly scan for the film they want without stopping to process too much text.
Component 2: Pedal Power Cycles (Dashboard)
For the Pedal Power CyclesI have no idea what this means project, you are presenting data trends (like bike popularity or revenue). When designing the dashboard, novice designers often try to fill every white pixel with a chart or a number. You must use white space to separate different "Data Stories". For example, keep the "Revenue Charts" physically separated from the "Bike Maintenance Logs" by a wide margin. This separation (Proximity) tells the viewer that these are two different topics, making the dashboard easier to interpret at a glance.
Out of Lesson Learning
⭐ The "Cinema Audit"
Visit the website of a major cinema chain (like Odeon, Cineworld, or Vue) on your mobile phone. Navigate to a specific movie page. Take a screenshot and use a markup tool (or just your eyes) to identify the largest area of "White Space" on the screen. Write one sentence explaining why the designer left that specific gap empty. (Hint: What button is it next to?)
Visit the website of a major cinema chain (like Odeon, Cineworld, or Vue) on your mobile phone. Navigate to a specific movie page. Take a screenshot and use a markup tool (or just your eyes) to identify the largest area of "White Space" on the screen. Write one sentence explaining why the designer left that specific gap empty. (Hint: What button is it next to?)
⭐⭐ The "Dashboard De-Clutter"
Imagine the manager of Pedal Power Cycles has sent you a draft of their new sales report. It contains a Pie Chart showing "Bike Types", a Line Graph showing "Profit over Time", and a table of "Customer Names" all squeezed into the top left corner of the page. Write a short email (approx. 50 words) to the manager advising them to move one of these elements to a different section of the page. Explain your reasoning using the term "Cognitive Load".
Imagine the manager of Pedal Power Cycles has sent you a draft of their new sales report. It contains a Pie Chart showing "Bike Types", a Line Graph showing "Profit over Time", and a table of "Customer Names" all squeezed into the top left corner of the page. Write a short email (approx. 50 words) to the manager advising them to move one of these elements to a different section of the page. Explain your reasoning using the term "Cognitive Load".
⭐⭐⭐ The "Minimalist Challenge"
Redesign the "Home Screen" for the Majestic Cinema kiosk using only 3 elements: The Company Logo, A "Book Tickets" button, and A "Collect Tickets" button. You cannot use any other text or images. Sketch this layout. Then, write a paragraph justifying why this extreme use of white space might actually be better for a busy cinema foyer than a screen full of movie posters. Reference "Processing Time" and "User Attention" in your answer.
Redesign the "Home Screen" for the Majestic Cinema kiosk using only 3 elements: The Company Logo, A "Book Tickets" button, and A "Collect Tickets" button. You cannot use any other text or images. Sketch this layout. Then, write a paragraph justifying why this extreme use of white space might actually be better for a busy cinema foyer than a screen full of movie posters. Reference "Processing Time" and "User Attention" in your answer.
Last modified: January 16th, 2026
