How to Group Layouts with the Proximity Rule

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A cheerful owl wearing glasses and a graduation cap while holding a book

Preview โ€” The Goal

๐ŸŽฏ The Goal: Scattered structural items force the brain to work twice as hard. The proximity rule (the workhorse of Gestalt psychology) says: things that sit CLOSE together are automatically perceived as belonging together โ€” no boxes, borders, or labels required. When an icon floats far from its caption, or a price drifts from its product, every viewer silently burns energy re-matching orphans to owners. Distance is information. Most layouts are lying by accident.