This disclosure involves applying an edit to objects in a vector design corresponding to a selected level of an object hierarchy. A system accesses a vector design comprising first, second, and third objects, each of the objects having a respective axis coordinate. The system assigns the first object and the second object to or within a common level in an object hierarchy based on determining that a similarity score comparing the two objects exceeds a threshold and that a modification causing the axis coordinates of the two objects to be adjacent maintains an overlap between the third object and the two objects. The system receives a user input selecting the first object and expands the selection to the second object based on the second object being assigned to the common level. The system applies an edit to the first and second objects based on the expansion of the selection.