Proximity

Alignment

Repetition

Contrast

 

Proximity

The concept of proximity is that related items are grouped together. Keep them close in a group rather than abucnh of unrelated items.

Items or groups of unrelated information should not be close.

When several items are close together they become one unit. This is like life, when several people are close together like a family. Both have a relationship.

Things to think about -

• When you create, know which items are related, then you know which items will be emphasized and which items will be de-emphasized. Express that information by grouping it.
• Proximity is just the matter of being a little more thoughtful, of doing what is natural, but pushing the envelope a little bit more. You're most likely already using proximity, but you may have not been pushing as far as you could to make it really effective.
• Sometimes when grouping in close proximity you will need to make some changes. These changes can be the size of type, or their weight, or the placement of graphics and or text. Remember all text does not have to be the same size. Some can be smaller or larger.
• Remember that proximity doesn't mean that everything has to be closer, just visually connected. The closeness or lack of closeness indicates the relationship.
• Rarely is proximity the only problem in a project. Look for other problems but as in any problem, fix one thing at time.

Remember proximity is used to organize.

Squint your eyes and count the groups.

Avoid:

• Too many seperate groups
• Don't center everything
• Don't keep to the corners
• Equal white space
• Creating relationships with things that don't go together

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