Let alignment carry the order

Why this rule exists

Alignment is the invisible scaffolding of a layout, the set of edges the eye follows without knowing it is following anything. When elements share an edge, a left margin, a baseline, a center line, the eye reads them as related and the composition as calm. When they do not, when things sit a few pixels off from one another, the result feels restless and unprofessional even though no single element looks wrong. Alignment is cheap, it costs nothing but discipline, and it is one of the fastest ways to make an amateur layout look considered. Strong layouts tend to have fewer alignment lines, not more, because every distinct edge the eye has to track is a small cost, and a design that snaps to a few clear lines feels tidier than one scattered across many. Order the eye can feel without naming is the whole point.