Proximity in navigation

Navigation is a sequence of links where some belong to the same group and others to different groups. Proximity is the cheapest way to communicate the structure — far cheaper and lighter than dividers, sub-headers, or color shifts.

The navigation proximity ladder

Inside a section: gap-1   (4px) between adjacent links
Between sections: gap-6   (24px) — visibly larger
Section heading:  closer to its first link than to the previous section

Keep the inside-section gap tight. Aggressive whitespace inside a sidebar wastes vertical space and makes the eye treat each link as its own region.

Sidebar with grouped sections

<nav style="display: grid; gap: 1.5rem; padding: 1rem;">
  <div style="display: grid; gap: 0.125rem;">
    <p class="nav-heading">Workspace</p>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/dashboard">Dashboard</a>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/projects">Projects</a>
    <a class="nav-link active" href="/team">Team</a>
  </div>

  <div style="display: grid; gap: 0.125rem;">
    <p class="nav-heading">Personal</p>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/profile">Profile</a>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/notifications">Notifications</a>
  </div>

  <div style="display: grid; gap: 0.125rem;">
    <p class="nav-heading">Account</p>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/billing">Billing</a>
    <a class="nav-link" href="/security">Security</a>
  </div>
</nav>

<style>
  .nav-heading {
    font-size: 0.7rem;
    font-weight: 600;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    letter-spacing: 0.06em;
    color: hsl(0 0% 50%);
    padding: 0 0.5rem;
    margin-bottom: 0.25rem;       /* slightly closer to its first link */
  }
  .nav-link {
    padding: 0.375rem 0.5rem;
    border-radius: 0.25rem;
    font-size: 0.875rem;
    color: hsl(0 0% 25%);
    text-decoration: none;
  }
  .nav-link:hover { background: hsl(0 0% 96%); }
  .nav-link.active { background: hsl(0 0% 92%); font-weight: 500; }
</style>

Three sections, no dividers. The 24px gap between sections is unmistakably looser than the 2px gap between links. Section headings recede in tone (uppercase + small + grey) so they don't compete with the links.

When to add a divider

If sections need more separation than proximity alone provides — typically when:

• Sections are conceptually very different (workspace links vs. account/sign-out).
• The sidebar is short (3–4 sections) and you want a strong visual rhythm.
• A sub-section of links is visually similar enough to its parent that proximity alone won't differentiate.

Use the lightest divider that does the job:

<hr style="border: 0; border-top: 1px solid hsl(0 0% 90%); margin: 0;" />

Resist heavy dividers (2px, dark colors) — they read as walls.

Mobile bottom nav

Bottom nav with 3–5 primary destinations should bind tightly horizontally:

<nav class="bottom-nav">
  <a href="/feed"><HomeIcon /><span>Home</span></a>
  <a href="/search"><SearchIcon /><span>Search</span></a>
  <a href="/post"><PlusIcon /><span>New</span></a>
  <a href="/inbox"><InboxIcon /><span>Inbox</span></a>
  <a href="/me"><UserIcon /><span>You</span></a>
</nav>

<style>
  .bottom-nav {
    position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; right: 0;
    display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(5, 1fr);
    border-top: 1px solid hsl(0 0% 88%);
    background: white;
    padding: 0.5rem 0 calc(0.5rem + env(safe-area-inset-bottom));
  }
  .bottom-nav a {
    display: grid; gap: 0.125rem; justify-items: center;
    font-size: 0.625rem;
    color: hsl(0 0% 40%);
  }
  .bottom-nav a[aria-current="page"] { color: hsl(220 90% 50%); font-weight: 500; }
</style>

The icon and label are tightly bound (2px gap). The five items distribute equal space across the bar. No dividers; the equal distribution is the proximity signal that they're a peer group.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a rare case where proximity is more uniform — each segment is a separate jump, but they're conceptually a continuous path:

<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb">
  <ol style="display: flex; gap: 0.5rem; align-items: center; list-style: none; padding: 0;">
    <li><a href="/projects">Projects</a></li>
    <li aria-hidden style="color: hsl(0 0% 60%);">/</li>
    <li><a href="/projects/acme">Acme</a></li>
    <li aria-hidden style="color: hsl(0 0% 60%);">/</li>
    <li aria-current="page">Settings</li>
  </ol>
</nav>

Equal gaps between segments. Separators (/) live in the gap, recessed in tone. The current page is unlinked and slightly heavier — the only proximity break is the recessive separator.

Command palette groupings

A cmd-K palette typically shows actions grouped by category. Proximity holds groups together:

Recent
  Create invoice
  Open settings

Actions
  Search
  Invite teammate
  Export workspace

Navigation
  Go to dashboard
  Go to projects

Each group has a lightly-styled heading (small, uppercase, low contrast). Within each group, items are tightly stacked. Between groups, looser spacing. No dividers needed.

Anti-patterns

• Equal-spaced sections. Sidebar with sections at the same gap as items inside sections. The eye reads it as one long list, not multiple groups.
• Heavy dividers between every section. A sidebar with <hr> between every group looks like a form. Use space first; dividers only when space alone is insufficient.
• Section headings as items. A sidebar where the section heading is styled like a link. Users try to click it. Style headings distinctly (smaller, uppercase, lower contrast, non-clickable cursor) so they read as labels.
• Nested-tree creep. Every link nested under a parent, with indentation creating proximity confusion. Flat structure beats deep nesting in nav.

Heuristics

1. Read groups aloud. "Workspace: Dashboard, Projects, Team." If you can hear the pause between groups, proximity is working.
2. Compress test. Reduce the section gap to half. If the structure becomes unclear, you needed that gap. If it's still clear, your sections were over-spaced.
3. No-divider test. Remove all dividers. If structure collapses, proximity wasn't doing the work and you were over-relying on chrome.

Related sub-skills

• proximity (parent).
• proximity-form-fields and proximity-data-tables — same principle in different layouts.
• hicks-law (cognition plugin) — reducing the count of nav items matters more than how they're grouped; pair this skill with that one.
• signal-to-noise-ratio — nav is a primary case for SNR discipline; keep chrome minimal.