The Power of Absence

Some years ago I was working with the designer or research publications. I was still relatively green in business and coming from physics background I found that the written word was not my best friend.

It was an interesting time and one thing I do remember learning was the power of white space ie the absence of text. This was used to add structure to a written page, helping the reader's eye scan for context and importance. In this instance white space was important and valuable in creating engaging publications.

A related white space called rivers was not good. A river is when a whole series of breaks between words on adjacent lines join up to create what looks like a vertical meandering river or stream in a block of text. These can be distracting for the reader and old school print skills such as changing the kerning (spacing between letters) came into play. Of course in the modern Internet world an author has little or no control over this a much software renders to its own rules and capacity. That is unless the rendering Is in the form of a picture or a PDF file.

Now to the relevance of the photograph. This is a view I came across in London today and is only there during redevelopment of the site. For the thirty years I have been in London there has been a huge blue monstrosity there preventing a view such as this. For now it is gone, but a new building will rise and create a new block. I used to work on the pink building but have never seen it from this angle before.

I have seen tens of buildings go up and down and again in my working career, but sometimes, if one uses one's eyes, the temporary absence of a building gives the opportunity to see that piece of the world in a different way. While this may not be the greatest illustration of the point it is effective.

The parallel in life is to consider the opportunity created when one spots the absence of something that has always been there. Is there a chance for a new perspective?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad