different flavors of white space

[Victor Steinbok]

white space--not in OED in any sense

About.com is very helpful in defining "white space".

http://webdesign.about.com/od/layoutglossary/g/bldefwhitespace.htm
> White space is the empty spaces in a design. White space is used to
> separate disparate design elements and group similar ones. White space
> is the lack of graphics or text in the layout.
> White space is not always "white" -- it is the empty parts of the
> page, but if the page has a different background color that will be
> the color of the white space.

The second part is actually more important here in identifying "white
space" as a term of art rather than a mere transparent combination of
words. Just to make it more interesting, there is also a list of AKAs:

> white space, empty space, negative space, breathing room

About.com's contribution does not end there--there is a whole design
guide on the use of white space http://goo.gl/vsvg0

Anyone who used to do text file conversions not so long ago would also
recognize "white space" as the term for "spacing" characters in word
processors, i.e., "space", tab, "hard space" and carriage-return or
line-feed (e.g., ^p, ^l, ^t, ^s and ^m in Microsoft Word through 6.0).
Many text converters--and the search/replace box in earlier versions of
Microsoft Word--used to ask how "white space" should be treated, i.e.,
whether a combination of spaces, tabs and soft-returns should be copied
as is or translated into another "character" (such as a tab). Again,
"white space" was more than just "space" and had nothing to do with
"white".

"White space" is also a general term in (print) publishing, referring to
the part of the page that contains no text. Depending on the particular
treatment it may or may not include the margin. For example, large
format textbooks deliberately leave a generous amount of white space
that is occasionally invaded by graphics. Most of the time, this is
quite deliberate, in order to allow space for notes in teacher's
edition, which simply adds another layer of text over white space of the
student edition.

Finally, the reason I got here in the first place, there appears to be a
concept of "white space" in marketing. White space or market white space
is a non-existent niche that someone decides to create or fill.

http://goo.gl/pSGZu
> Watching a small but well-distributed rival create share in a market
> white space without responding isn’t on the menu at Coca-Cola,
> apparently.
> The CSD giant has filed a trademark for Dasani Drops, defined under
> Goods and Services as “Concentrates and syrups used in the preparation
> of soft drinks; syrups for beverages.”

[This one is a bit more narrow, as the author defines "white space"
narrowly within the context of his own work--trying to create a
"disruptive" opportunity for an innovative product]
http://goo.gl/xsThv
> By systematically challenging and breaking "lock in", a company can
> enact a new success formula and effectively disrupt itself. Hartung
> prescribes a set of goals and perspectives that include creating
> "white space" that eventually incubates a new Success Formula.

http://goo.gl/skbJ2
> [G]iven the relatively early stage of market maturity, there was
> plenty of white space for first-movers to take advantage of.
> ...
> White space will shrink as more companies enter and expand in emerging
> markets in search of growth to offset the slowdown in the West.

http://goo.gl/BBAsc
> Use advanced market research and analysis techniques to plot your path
> to market:
> ...
> identifying market "white space"

http://goo.gl/QhNPF
> Motiv’s team will help you find the market white space where you can
> focus your organization’s efforts to develop strategic advantage.


There is also "digital white space" that can be accessed via "white
space devices":

http://goo.gl/6O2IY
> I am a broadcast engineer with over 30 years experience that's 100%
> opposed to the NAB's intrusion into the free communicatons market.
> White space CAN work well-and as time goes on the newer generation
> white space devices will work even better! At least now there WILL be
> the opportunity for it to happen-unless the greedy NAB gets their way!
> Besides, broadcast TV is dead anyway-it just doesn't know it. It
> always was a huge waste of way too valuable spectrum.
> What most of you don't realize is that DATA IS DATA IS DATA! It can be
> anything!
> Has it occurred to you that TV can be transmitted wirelessly by these
> white space devices too?

The odd thing is that the OED /does recognize/ the existence of "white
space" as a typographic concept. It just does not have an entry for it
(or additional compounds based on it).

Text, n.1
Draft additions February 2005
> An area of printed or written words on a page (as opposed to images or
> white space); (now also) data in the form of words or alphabetic
> characters, esp. as processed, stored, or displayed by electronic means.

Gutter, n.1
> 7. In /Printing/ = /gutter-stick/ n. at Compounds 2. Also in
> /Bookbinding/, ‘the white space between the pages of a book’ (Barrère
> and Leland /Slang/, 1889).

Inferior, n.
> 3. /Printing/. An inferior letter: see A. 8.
> 1884 J. Southward /Pract. Printing/ (ed. 2) 17 The distinction between
> ordinary letters and superiors or inferiors is found in the unusually
> large white space at the top or bottom of them respectively.

Lay-out, n.
> 1. b. Typographical specifications or rough designs for a piece of
> printing; in extended use, the design details of a cartoon film. Also
> /attrib/.
> 1946 A. Monkman in H. Whetton /Pract. Printing & Binding/ vii. 81/1 It
> is necessary also for the layout man to be expert in copying the
> numerous type faces. This is not so very important if the layout is
> for the compositor, because all he requires for his work is the
> general plan, indicating type sizes and faces and allocations of white
> space; but when the layout is for the client, markings showing type
> sizes and other particulars are not necessary. The sketch should be a
> clear indication of the appearance of the finished job.

Letterpress, n.
> 1. b. The text of a book or other printed work, as distinguished from
> illustrations, plates, etc.
> 1921 /Printers' Ink/ 25 Aug. 96/2 Plenty of white space, two lines of
> italics and other letterpress‥constitute the remaining features of
> this excellent piece of work.

Mat, n.3
> 1. Originally: an ornamental (often gold) border of paper, metal,
> etc., surrounding a framed picture. Later also: a border or mount of
> white or tinted cardboard; a sheet of cardboard on which a print or
> drawing is placed, and then covered by a mount which forms a margin
> round the area of the print (rare).
> 1967 /Boston Sunday Globe/ 23 Apr. b58/7 Sometimes prints come with a
> mat (white space around the art), but the framed picture is much
> better if the mat is made from a mat board.

Pull-, comb. form
> *pull-quote* n. /Typogr./ and /Journalism/ (orig. and chiefly /U.S./)
> a brief and striking quotation taken from the main text of an article
> and used as a subheading or graphic feature, usually in a distinctive
> typeface; (also) a striking quotation used as a caption or graphic
> feature in an advertisement.
> 1986 F. E. Davis et al. /Desktop Publishing/ iii. 46 You can break up
> a page of text attractively by dropping in a ... quote from the main
> body of text that you set apart somehow--either in a box, within
> rules, or surrounded by white space--to catch the readers' attention.
> ... These free-floating phrases, which are called /callouts/ or /pull
> quotes/, can highlight important material.

Reflexive, adj.
> 2. b. /gen/. Capable of, inclined to, or characterized by reflection
> or serious thought; = reflective adj. 1a.
> 2004 /Times Lit. Suppl./ 14 May 17/4 Page layout, font size and white
> space are all designed to enhance the text's visual qualities, and to
> draw attention to the reflexive nature of reading.

There is an approximate meaning of white adj. 2.d.:

> 2. d. Blank, not written or printed upon; †(of a document) unendorsed
> (cf. /white-backed/ adj. at Special uses 2f).

Furthermore, a similar meaning of "white" is included in the lemma for
"white paper" (b), but it's still not quite the same.

> white paper n. /(a) /paper of a white colour (also /fig./); /(b)
> //techn./ blank paper, not written or printed upon; /(c) /an official
> document printed on white paper; /spec./ (with capital initials)
> before 1940, an Order Paper of the House of Commons which was a
> corrected and revised version of one issued earlier the same day (a
> Blue Paper); /(d) /(with capital initials) a government publication
> presented to Parliament and having white covers rather than blue ones
> (usu. less bulky than those with blue covers); /esp./ one outlining
> proposed legislation or stating policy. also /transf./

Furthermore, the common trade meaning of "white paper"--something that
describes an industry position, not necessarily a government
publication. It seems a slight revision is necessary here.

Other dictionaries do have "white space" entries:

AHD: Space on a page or poster not covered by print or graphic matter.
MWOLD: the areas of a page without print or pictures
Macmillan: space on a page that has deliberately been left empty
Wiktionary:
> 1. White area between written characters and graphic regions on a
> produced page or computer display; blanks and the vertical blank lines
> in between paragraphs, or other organized rows of text lines (poetry).
> 2. (computer science) Any single character or series of characters
> that represents horizontal or vertical space in typography.

RHUD: the unprinted area of a piece of printing, as of a poster or
newspaper page, or of a portion of a piece of printing, as of an
advertisement; blank space: /White space is as effective in a layout as
type. /
Double-Tongued Dictionary: an under-served business market or
undeveloped product category.
Dictionary for Library and Information Science:
> In printing, any area of a page (other than the margins) not occupied
> by type matter or illustration, for example, the unfilled space at the
> end of each line of a poem or at the end of a chapter. Compare with
> blank. See also: fat matter and lean matter.
BuzzWhack: The unmet needs of a customer. The space that is filled by no
other product or service. In other words, if you want to make a million
as an entrepreneur all you have to do is find the white space – and fill it.
Netlingo: A potentially lucrative market for which no products or
services yet exist, primarily because nobody has thought to make people
desire these products or services yet.
ComputerUser/dictionary: Blank spaces on a printed page, inserted in the
text by characters such as spaces, tabs, line feeds, and form feeds.

FarLex Encyclopedia has the most extensive entry:
> (1) Unused spectrum between earlier analog TV channels. See white spaces.
> (2) Any area on a document page that does not contain text or
> graphics. Also called "negative space," the term was derived from
> printing paper, which was typically white, and any part of the paper
> not printed remained white. To a graphic designer whose goal is to
> render a pleasing result, white space is as important as the printed
> areas.
> (3) Non-printing characters. Applications treat white space
> differently. For example, in word processing, each depression of the
> space bar generates one blank space character (ASCII 32), and each
> blank space character is displayed as one blank space (rather logical).
> On Web pages (HTML pages), multiple, contiguous space characters are
> treated as a single character of white space (not so logical). In
> order to actually display several blank spaces in a row, a
> non-breaking HTML code must be used instead of multiple space characters.
> (4) A void in service; for example, white spaces in the cellular
> industry are geographic areas without coverage.


VS-)

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