Proximity & Correspondence

The design concepts of proximity and correspondence are two of the most important when it comes to organizing visual information. Creating good visual organization is really about building relationships. For example a photo with a caption underneath, we understand they are related because of their proximity to one another. Think: the closer the components are, the stronger their relationship. As for correspondence, we also establish relationships based on visual similarity. If a bit of blue underlined text turns out to be a link on a web site then we will naturally assume that the next bit of blue underlined text we come across on that site will also be a link. This type of perceptual organization goes back to prehistoric times when man had to categorize things like berries that were safe to eat and those that were, lets say gastronomically challenging. If one yellow berry made our tummies hurt we would be unlikely to try another similar looking yellow berry (correspondence) or, for that matter another berry from the same bush (proximity).

What does this mean for the designer? Well, it is a guide of how to make design easy to interpret for the end user. Take a catalog of home goods as a practical application. To make the catalog easy to interpret the designer should place the item's picture very close to the item's name, description, and price. This establishes the relationship between those elements through proximity. Also each item title, description, and price throughout the catalog should look the same. This means using the same font, size, color, and style for every title, another for every description and so on.  This seems obvious now doesn't it? Yet, how many catalogs have pictures with little inset numbers or letters which we as the customer must track down and match with an item description on the facing page? This design faux pas also exists in many popular magazines. A page of celebrity pictures from a charity event has inset numbers and we are to find their counterparts in a paragraph of text about the event? 

These concepts are powerful outside design as well. In fact they help explain a lot about how we interpret the world around us. Let's say you are in the parking lot of your favorite discount store... how about Target? As you are walking from your car you see an older man (70 or so) and a young girl (8-9). They are close to one another and walking in the same direction. What do you assume? Grandfather and granddaughter? Pedophile and victim? Either way you have given them a pretty powerful relationship based solely on proximity. Say you continue into the store, shopping for a greeting card and pet food. In the greeting card section you run into a woman wearing a purple and white striped sweater and green corduroy pants with brown clogs. After you overcome your gag reflex you pick out a card and head over to the pet section for cat food (you now have a cat). In the pet food section you see a guy wearing a purple and white striped long sleeved knit shirt, green cords, and brown sandals. Do you assume coincidence? No, you build a relationship in your head. Two escaped mental patients, performers of some kind, people who lost the same bet, married couple with no taste, etc. Thus you have built a relationship based on correspondence. 

Pay attention and note how often these two concepts help shape your reality and make sure to use them on your next design project.