Law of Proximity
Our brains group things that are close together. It’s automatic. This is the essence of the Law of Proximity — and it’s one of the most commonly ignored principles in interface design.
Proximity is one of the most misunderstood — and most often ignored — principles in design. It’s about how we visually connect elements — what belongs together, and what doesn’t.
Think about your kitchen drawer: spoons, knives, forks — all grouped together, not randomly scattered across the house. Same logic applies to interfaces.
Here's a classic mistake: the labels and inputs are all spaced out evenly, so it's unclear which label belongs to which field. On the left, it feels like a pile of disconnected text boxes. On the right, labels are grouped more tightly with their inputs — and that makes the form much easier to scan.
Another example: same spacing between everything — same confusion.
On the left, sections blend together like soup. On the right, they breathe. Headlines feel like headlines. Groups feel like groups. That’s what proximity is about.
These are simple examples, but in complex interfaces with dozens of controls, proper separation and grouping can be difficult.
Here is another example of typography. Compare these two images.
Having the same distance between the heading and its surrounding paragraphs can be confusing. It's better to place headings closer to the paragraphs they belong to.
