The perception of a sensed source as  nearby or far away (can be applied to sound, vision, and touch).

In visual design, this is usually referred to as proximity (according to Gestalt theory), especially when applied to the arrangement of items in an enclose space, like an interface or poster design. Distance is more commonly referred to physical separation.

Examples:

• As an auditory cue, distance can be created using volume and distortion.
• As a visual cue, distance (or depth) is created by using perspective, shadows, opacity, and size.
• As a haptic cue, this might be an interface being able to detect how close an finger is from the screen. The Samsung cell phones allowed for touchless gestures (also known as “hover touch” or “floating touch”) by allowing a hovering finger to interact with a screen. Useful if a user was wearing a glove and still wanted to interact with their phone.

Analysis

Orientational:

Distance in sound & vision perception is orientational because it creates a sense of space or environment for people. Ex: Someone might see a house in the distance and hear a car loudly as it passes by.

Distance is often related to direction, one can also detect from what direction something is coming from through sight or sound.

Metaphorical:

Distance creates the illusion of space that might not necessarily be there. It has the potential to create an environment when there is none.

Doppler effect caused by direction & distance