Recently I did a thorough evaluation of an advertisement involving “nothingness,” or a largely empty background with perhaps five percent of the space filled. It felt so sweeping, so expansive that it could not be ignored. The same concept can be present in audio; for example, a silence so profound it is all-consuming and metaphorically deafening.
While incredibly effective, these tactics can be viewed as “negative space” and in marketing, must be carefully balanced with just a touch of “positive space.” The positive space can be tiny but must complete the message—for without it, silence is just silence, and empty space is just empty space.