Final answer:
The spacing between columns should be greater when using larger text to ensure legibility and prevent a crowded layout. This maintains a balanced design and facilitates readability, allowing viewers to engage with the material from various distances.
Step-by-step explanation:
When using larger text, the spacing between your columns needs to be greater than the spacing used for smaller text. This is because larger text increases the visual weight of the text block, which can lead to a more cramped and less legible layout if the columns are too close together. By increasing the space between the columns, it prevents the text from feeling overcrowded and allows the viewer's eye to more easily navigate through the content. Just as with the concept of white space in poetry, which can be used to emphasize meaning, the use of space in layout design plays an important role in how a piece is received by the audience.
Considering practical examples, the edge columns being slightly closer could be a design decision to maintain a balanced appearance, ensuring the text is aligned in a visually appealing manner despite varying text sizes. In larger layouts, such as in LibreTexts, attention to margins and utilizing white space ensures a smooth reading experience, leading readers to the story and making the content approachable from different distances. Moreover, in a visual composition, it's crucial to check that the larger elements like text size don't clash with the overarching design before focusing on smaller revisions.