CHAMPAIGN, Ill., April 11 (UPI) -- Illinois and Canadian scientists say advertising white space is interpreted by most consumers and advertisers as suggesting refined taste and upscale quality.
However, in the first paper to trace the history of white space in advertising, researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Illinois-Champaign argue white space doesn't have some inherent meaning; it means what it does because of a particular history.
"Most existing research into visuals asserts that a certain thing means this or that because of some inherent feature, and that we can count on it always meaning that," say the scientists. "Our research refutes that."
The researchers found that even without specific knowledge about its historical origins, both creative directors at major advertising agencies and typical consumers had a similar understanding of the meaning of white space.
"Advertising depends on the use of various conventions, or socially agreed upon rules of language," write the authors. "Consumers learn the visual conventions of advertising the same way movie audiences understand that dissolves between scenes indicate the passage of time ... not a technical problem with the film."
The study appears in the June issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
