What proximity actually is
Proximity means grouping related elements together. A product name sits next to its price, a date sits next to its location, a headline sits close to the line that explains it. It cuts clutter and makes a design easy to scan.
Look at the gaps. Is the space inside a group smaller than the space between groups? If every gap is the same, nothing looks grouped.
Three steps to get it right
Decide what belongs together
Name and price. Headline and subhead. Date and place. Make those pairs before you think about layout.
Tighten inside, loosen between
The gap between groups should be at least one and a half times the gap inside a group.
Check your headings
A heading should sit closer to what it introduces than to whatever is above it.
Where AI gets it wrong
AI and templates spread everything evenly, the same gap between every element, so nothing looks like it belongs with anything. Even spacing looks tidy and reads as a list of unrelated things.
This one gets fixed by hand, in your design tool, after the image is made.
Name the problem in design words and give it one clear change:
“Each price sits closer to the next product than to its own. Group every name with its price, and put more space between products.”
- Circle the groups on your current graphic.
- Tighten the space inside each group.
- Double the space between groups and compare.
- Next up: White space
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