UI/UX design

Stage 2 · Lesson 2 of 7

A spacing system and white space

Visual design fundamentals

A is a small, fixed set of distances you use everywhere. It is often based on 4 or 8 pixels: 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64. Picking from a set, instead of eyeballing every gap, keeps screens consistent and speeds up decisions.

It also maps neatly to tokens in code later. Use space to show which things belong together. Items in a group sit closer to each other than to items outside it.

This is the . Generous around a group makes it easier to scan, not emptier.

Common trapequal spacing everywhere, which removes grouping, or starting tight and cramming more in; start with more space than feels natural and take some away.

A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come with the full roadmap. Unlock

Resources for this stage

Start with· follow one of these

  • GuideFree
    Material Design 3

    Google

    Free, detailed foundations on layout, colour roles and type scales from a system used by millions of apps

  • BookPaid
    Refactoring UI

    Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger · About $99

    Paid, practical visual design tactics explained for people without a design background

Practise

  • Study how real apps handle layout and hierarchy, then recreate a screen to train your eye

Keep handy

  • Check every text and background pair against WCAG contrast ratios in seconds

  • Proximity, similarity and common region explained with examples, for when grouping feels off

Also worth your time

Mark this stage as not done?