Daniel Sinchuk
DTC 355
Banana Republic
The white space is used interestingly on the home page. As the page opens, the white space functions as a border around the main images. As you scroll down, the use of white space becomes minimal until you get to the bottom of the site. However, although the images were large and crammed together, they didn’t feel like sardines because the images were large and spacious. Also, the passive video gives a good sense of energy that could offset the lack of white space in the middle.
Another good use of white space is in the men new arrivals page. It’s very simple, but well executed. First, the header of the page is a passive video that ties in with the home page. The rest of the page is a showcase of new products. Three vertical images every row with minimal white space in between. The white space mainly serves to separate the rows which works to create the feeling of a fresh row.
It was difficult to find a page I didn’t like the use of white space, but I came across one that could’ve used white space better. It was the book appointment button on the bottom of the home page. There wasn’t much information that they had to put on this page, and so I feel that the white space here is too spacious. I feel like I’m scrolling needlessly far when things could’ve been more compact.
Wells Fargo Bank
The white space on the home page functions to make the site feel safe and clean. Subtle contrast between sections and the white of the background works well. The buttons are well sized and placed. The main bursts of color are yellow and purple; both colors that can be seen as happy and royal. The home page feels like it contains a good amount of relevant information while also feeling easy to navigate.
The next page I looked at was investing and wealth management. It carries the same energy and a similar template to the home page. The white space here also serves the same purpose of keeping things clean and efficient. It makes the navigation of the page effortless.
The worst use of white space that I came across from this website was on the about me page. First, it feels like the site went from well-produced to low budget. The white space here serves no real purpose. It just feels like the space that wasn’t used.
Operation Underground Railroad
The home page of Operation Underground Railroad, like all the others, utilizes white space well. The white space here allows the site to breathe and deliver information. It feels like an effective a/b strategy. Image – white space – images – white space – images + white space – image – etc. I like how white space was utilized in the join the fight part of the home page. It switches up the flow of the page without making it dissonant.
I didn’t like the use of white space on the what we do page. First, there is a section overlapping the top image. This creates unnecessary dissonance to be followed by text floating in a pool of white space. It doesn’t work for me and it feels like it doesn’t work for this page. Scrolling down, there is a section of photo buttons you can interact with which is fine, but following it, this page does a tacky trick where they create a checkerboard style of white space – image, then image – white space. Then, a thin bar selling merch to finish the page with white space – image. This page just feels thrown together and poorly constructed.
On the join the fight page, the white space followed similar themes as the what we do page but executed it better. For example, the checkerboard style was used again, but on this page, the designer used a horizontal line to tie the words together with the image and gave space between one row and the next. It comes off as playful and thoughtful. Also, the thin sections feel more purposeful and relevant in their locations. The balance of white space, images and text was well executed in this page.