Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition
by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
092 Horror Vacui
A tendency to fill blank spaces with things rather than leaving spaces empty.
Horror vacui — a Latin expression meaning fear of emptiness — refers to the desire to fill empty spaces with information or objects. In style, it is the opposite of minimalism. Though the term has varied meanings across different disciplines dating back to Aristotle, today it is principally used to describe a style of art and design that leaves no empty space. Examples include the paintings of artists Jean Dubuffet and Adolf Wölfli, works of graphic designers David Carson and Vaughan Oliver, and the cartoons of S. Clay Wilson and Robert Crumb. The style is also commonly employed in commercial media such as newspapers, comic books, and websites.1
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