The Upper Left is Key in Web Design
Submitted by bklotz on 1 February 2012 - 2:19am
More often than not, websites place their logos on the upper left part of the page, and as prospective web designers, we should probably take note.
I never devoted much thought to it before, but during the website montage in the beginning of the "Understanding Drupal" video, this trend became obvious. As each site flashed by, logo after logo appeared in that same section.
Now I see it everywhere:
- UMass Dartmouth
- URI, my alma mater
- The page you’re on right now
As designers, why do this? Simple: that’s how we read. From an early age, our eyes are trained to start in the upper left. Evidently we “read” a web page the same way, even if it’s not simply a block of text.
The Internet is big, to put it mildly, and in an ocean of interconnected links, you want the user to immediately know where they are. Using the eye’s natural tendencies to shape your site can make it more accessible and ultimately more user-friendly.