White space is a powerful design tool that improves readability and even allows you to establish a correct visual reading of the final design. However, now that mobile devices are so popular and used by a large percentage of the population, it is important that you also know how to apply these blanks in
responsive web design.
The role of white space in web design
The macro and micro space are the two type of white spaces. The macro space refers to the space between larger elements, which is widely used, for example, for Google web pages. It has a clean design, whose focus is the main objective of the page, while other aspects are not emphasized.
The spaces between the smaller elements: such as an image and a legend, elements of a list, words and letters are the micro spaces. For example, think of an online newspaper. You need to have space between characters and between paragraphs so that the content is easy to read and to give the newspaper a clean and light feeling.
Adobe Kuler is the right tool to evaluate how the web page you are creating looks in terms of colors. If you have doubts and do not know which sources would be the most appropriate, try using Google Webfonts. Select different sources and see how it intertwines with the blank space.
To achieve a readable design on mobile devices, it is necessary that you also use the blanks. You may feel limited due to the screen sizes, but there are certain actions that you can take into account and we mention them in this article.
Rearrange the navigation
One of the first actions to take to manage the blanks is to reorder the navigation menu. In fact, due to the limited screen space that mobile devices have, the menu should be minimized.
The most common option is to place a hamburger menu icon in the upper right. This small icon is an indicator that the menu is minimized. Once the user selects the icon, a screen will appear with all the menu links for the users to choose the section they want to visit. In these cases,
app developers should consider the spaces between each menu item. Since they will be elements that must be activated with your finger, you must ensure that they have enough space to be selected without problems.
The hamburger menu is only useful when a menu contains many items. If you have a few sections, you can opt for a menu that is always visible at the bottom or even place tabs at the top. In this way, the menu becomes even more accessible and is always visible to visitors.
Move from a horizontal to a vertical format
The format of mobile devices is usually vertical, while it is horizontal in computers. There may be vertical scrolling, but there is a large horizontal space to organize the elements that are part of the app and website. This is a crucial difference that app developers from custom mobile app development company should consider when working with responsive design.
On a website for computers, the layout is usually divided into 3 or more columns. In certain cases, these columns are clearly visible to the user and although they are not, they serve to better organize the elements. However, a single column is usually used in mobile devices due to the limited space available.
Although you may think that it is a good idea that your content occupies the full width of the screen, it is not always possible. In the case of background images, there is no problem, but if it is a text, it is necessary to take into account the blanks and provide a margin on the sides.
Check font size and spacing
Another point to consider is the size of the fonts on mobile devices. In some cases, you may only need to make minimal adjustments. However, if you have played with typography and added huge titles or quotes in lower font sizes, you need to adjust this text so that it can be viewed on mobile.
Remember that you can not only control the size of the fonts you use but also modify the color, the line height, the spacing between letters and the margins between two blocks of text. Modifying all these properties can improve your use of your typography on mobile devices.
Remember to consider the format and the total space you have, especially the horizontal one. Title words should not be separated by hyphens. Examine carefully the characteristics and properties of your typography, perform the necessary tests to ensure that your texts will be properly displayed on mobile devices.
Modify the dimensions of your images
Another resource you should consider is images. Due to the format of the screen of a computer, photographs are usually chosen that have a greater width compared to their height. On mobile devices, these photographs must be modified so that they can be displayed correctly on these devices.
In many cases, not only the smallest photograph is taken, but it can also be cropped or sorted so that a specific part of the image is displayed. This is a small detail that can
improve the user experience because the image and text are related to each other on a website.
It is not always necessary to show photographs. In some cases, you can remove them from certain sections of the mobile experience if you want to highlight other elements. For example, you could well remove image sliders from the home screen if you consider links or certain buttons to be more relevant.
