Computer-implemented design tool functions are described herein for recognizing organized collections of objects in a design layout, and providing controls to manipulate, in a selected organized collection, individual objects and arrangements of multiple objects. In an embodiment, a computing device determines whether an arrangement of selected objects in a design layout satisfies certain criteria, and if so, the computing device recognizes the arrangement as an organized collection, and provides controls within a selected organized collection to perform various operations to manipulate an individual object within the selected organized collection while automatically and dynamically modifying the organized collection to maintain desired uniformity in the collection.