Principles of Beauty Design #2: Spacing

What Spacing Really Means in Design

In the last post, we looked at how beauty packaging layouts are structured and how to recreate them to better understand visual hierarchy and composition. In this post, we’ll zoom in on one of the most deceptively important details: spacing.

Spacing can refer to both the distance between different design elements (like the brand name and product name) and the letter spacing (also known as tracking or kerning) within a line of text. While it’s often invisible when done well, spacing has a major impact on the overall feel, clarity, and polish of a design.

Phlur – Same Layout, Different Scales

Let’s take Phlur as an example. On the 50 ml perfume bottle, the text elements are tightly grouped, cantered vertically, and occupy a relatively compact area in the middle of the bottle. Everything feels tight but intentional.

On the 100 ml version, there’s more space between the elements, but the composition is still vertically balanced—the product name stays cantered between the brand name and product type. The layout has been scaled thoughtfully to suit the larger surface.

Now compare that to Phlur’s Hair & Body Mist or Body Oil line. The text appears to hug the top and bottom edges more closely. At first glance, it might look like it’s skewed toward the top—but if you draw a box excluding the rounded bottom, the spacing from the top and bottom is actually quite symmetrical. This shows how packaging shape can influence perceived spacing.

Letter Spacing and Visual Tone

Spacing between letters (tracking) plays a huge role in tone. Tighter spacing can feel bold or compact, while wider spacing can evoke luxury, airiness, or modernity. This is especially important on wide or narrow packaging formats.

Vilhelm Parfumerie – Wide and Open

Vilhelm Parfumerie uses a low, wide bottle with a rectangular label that stretches across the front. The product name is the focal point, while the brand name appears below it in smaller, lighter type. The space between the two lines is fairly tight, but the letter spacing within the product name is generous, giving it a refined, high-end feel. The label design also leaves ample white space on either side, which accommodates longer product names without the text feeling cramped.

Summer Fridays – Consistency Through Air

Summer Fridays is a great example of a brand that uses generous spacing—both between letters and design elements—to create a clean, airy, and elevated look. This consistency across their product line reinforces the brand’s polished aesthetic.

You can easily spot when spacing hasn’t been properly considered. If one product label looks tight and cramped while another looks loose and minimal, it breaks the visual rhythm. It’s like writing a sentence on paper and realizing you’re running out of space—so you start shrinking your letters or curving the line to fit.

Designing for Variation

One of the biggest spacing challenges in beauty packaging is designing for variation. Product names may vary in length, and new lines may be added later. If the original design doesn’t allow for flexibility, you end up with inconsistent packaging where some products feel overstuffed, and others look unfinished.

To avoid this:

• Don’t try to fill all available space with text.

• Design with breathing room, knowing that some product names will be longer.

• Test layouts with multiple name lengths early in the design process.

Well-considered spacing isn’t about filling space—it’s about creating a calm, intentional rhythm that supports readability, elegance, and brand consistency.

Next: Alignment

In the next post, we’ll look at alignment—a principle that often goes unnoticed but has a huge impact on whether a design feels clean, structured, and intentional. We'll explore how alignment creates order and professionalism, and how even subtle misalignments can disrupt an otherwise polished layout.