Title area – is there any way not to have the title area take up nearly all the screen real estate with non-utilizable wasted space? Even when I make use of an extremely long page title, there is a tremendous amount of non-utilizable space.

Image and Title (default)

Tons of space to the right that cannot be utilized. The title web part is twice as high as the content.

Plain

This is the most condensed option, setting the title web part to the height. No image/background option.

Color Block

This option takes up the most vertical space. If the content area to the right was usable, this would be a pretty decent option – especially if a navigation menu could be placed there.

If something like this could be implemented, then I wouldn't mind this layout.

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Microsoft has adopted UX designs that maximize non-utilizable space and lack borders or shading to distinguish sections.  SharePoint offers no easy means to customize - it is extremely frustrating. 

In another decade this boondoggle of maximized negative space with no distinguishable elements will be considered the "web mullet" of the twenty-twenties.  In ten years, it will be regarded in like manner to the 3D/blinking/scrolling text of the nineties.