“The beauty and wonder of ‘white space’ is . . . [a] modernist myth that is under revision in the age of the user. Modern designers discovered that open space on a page can have as much physical presence as printed areas. White space is not always a mental kindness, however. Edward Tufte, a fierce advocate of visual density, argues for maximizing the amount of data conveyed on a single page or screen. In order to help readers make connections and comparisons as well as to find information quickly, a single surface packed with well-organized information is sometimes better than multiple pages with a lot of blank space. In typography, as in urban life, density invites intimate exchange among people and ideas.”

—Ellen Lupton, The Birth of the User, 2004; from Looking Closer Five: Critical Writings on Graphic Design, 2006.