AI has come a long way over the past few years. The best testimony to its power is that it has become an irreplaceable tool in most creative endeavors.
According to survey data from Adobe, 83% of creative professionals use generative AI in their work. More interestingly, 20% of them do so because their companies or clients require the use of AI.
But what’s the role of AI in website design? More specifically, can it understand aesthetics and white space?
This article will look at the role of negative space in machine-driven design, focusing both on its impact on design appeal and user experience, as well as how pros can use AI to drive positive outcomes. Let’s get into it.
Why Website Aesthetics Matter
Although commonly overlooked, visual appeal is crucial in determining a website’s effectiveness at attracting and converting customers.
Research clearly shows that aesthetic design directly impacts engagement rates.
For instance, 59% of internet users would rather interact with content that is beautifully designed than something that looks plain and simple. Additionally, scientific studies have discovered that consumers form brand opinions based on web design. Moreover, a site’s aesthetic appeal impacts visitors’ purchase intention.
With this in mind, it’s clear that high-quality, aesthetically appealing web design is a key element of a successful sales strategy.
But where does white space come into the equation? And what is it in the first place?
What Is White Space?
In the simplest of terms, white space (or negative space) is any part of a website that is intentionally left blank.
Contrary to popular belief, white space doesn’t necessarily have to be white.
Instead, it can consist of a colored background — like the gradient purple on Rosie, an AI call answering service — or even an image or video that allows primary conversion elements to stand out.
Source: heyrosie.com
How White Space Impacts Website Appeal and Usability
Even though, at first glance, it may look simple, white space plays a tremendous role in affecting website appeal and usability:
- It boosts aesthetic appeal by creating a sense of clarity and balance, elevating even the most content-heavy pages.
- It improves content readability by ensuring enough breathing space between lines of text — something that’s particularly important in a world where most web visitors don’t read pages but scan them for key info instead.
- It guides user attention toward high-value webpage elements, especially when combined with contrasting colors and clear shapes.
- White space can reduce cognitive load by infusing pages with clarity and structure, making it easier for web visitors to understand and memorize information.
- It indirectly elevates conversion rates by making webpages easier and more enjoyable to use, more effective at educating audiences, and more visually attractive.
For instance, if you check out RE Cost Seg, a real estate cost segregation service, you’ll see that the brand effectively employs white space in its web design to ease prospect education. Instead of speeding through the process and benefits of cost segregation (a complex tax strategy), this brand uses white space to break the content into smaller sections, creating a clear learning path for novice prospects and giving them sufficient time to process each of the steps involved in the tactic.
Source: recostseg.com
Similarly, check out Somewhere, a popular remote staffing agency. You’ll notice that by using negative space in the hero section, the brand effectively emphasizes the most valuable webpage elements. These include a unique value proposition, a call to action, and trust-building microcopy.
Source: somewhere.com
Can AI Understand the Role of White Space in Aesthetic Web Design?
- So, you understand the importance of white space in website appeal and usability.
- But how does this webpage element fit in with machine-driven design? Can AI understand its role in aesthetic web design? Or is it predestined to employ white space generically, without actually maximizing its potential?
- Well, the answer to these questions can be quite complex.
- Essentially, machine-driven design works by processing existing website designs. It trains on real websites. And when generating new designs, it will follow the patterns it has recognized on those pages.
- In practice, this type of website design strategy can lead to exceptionally positive results, not only because AI is super efficient at recognizing what works but also because consumers prefer interacting with sites that are simple and familiar.
- However, the issue with machine-driven design is that the result will only be as good as the data on which the model was trained.
- So, if an AI-powered website builder was trained on high-quality sites, then, yes, it does have an amazing predisposition for creating designs that are beautiful, original, highly usable, and most importantly, effective at converting customers. But if it wasn’t — well, that’s an entirely different outcome.
How to Leverage AI to Create Stunning Websites with Plenty of White Space
The simple fact is that machine-driven design can’t guarantee high-performance outcomes without a human touch.
Ultimately, it doesn’t have intuition about design, aesthetics, and usability. Nor does it really understand white space. It simply studies existing resources and combines them into something original.
So, if you’re looking to incorporate AI-powered tools into your web design process, keep in mind that it will necessitate oversight.
Yes, AI can (and most probably will) use white space properly — especially if you use a high-quality tool made by professional web designers with insights into good UX practices.
Nevertheless, for the best usability and aesthetic appeal, it will require professional guidance and feedback to ensure that the outcome aligns with your target audience’s usability and aesthetic preferences.
For example, there’s a huge difference in what makes a website attractive to B2B vs. B2C buyers.
On the one hand, end consumers will prefer layout simplicity, emotional impact, aspirational claims, and visual appeal — characteristics that the Playa Bowls homepage combines to create an enjoyable shopping experience.
Source: playabowls.com
On the other hand, professionals will always look for high-quality evaluation information. They won’t mind a bit of complexity in terms of content readability or use of industry-specific jargon. Instead, how they’ll benefit from simplicity and white space is through an enjoyable and logical browsing experience, which is precisely what brands like DialMyCalls, a business text messaging service, bring to the table with their B2B landing pages.
Source: dialmycalls.com
Final Thoughts on AI, Aesthetic Appeal, and White Space
If you’re considering using AI to create a website for your business (or integrate machine-driven design into your practice as a designer), there’s a single key to getting it right.
You have to understand the principles of high-performing website design, which include the proper use of white space. Prioritize including this webpage element in your website, regardless of whether you’re designing it manually or using an AI tool.
Then, from a strictly aesthetic point of view, you can and should enjoy your artistic freedom. After all, what looks visually pleasing to one group of people may be off-putting to another.
Nevertheless, by studying your target audience’s aesthetic preferences and aligning them with your brand’s visual identity, you can effectively supercharge your site’s attractiveness. And if it incorporates sufficient negative space, it will also be more enjoyable to engage with, ultimately securing the conversion rates you’re after.
