Very timely topic for me. I'm going through this thought process on one of my apps right now.
Cashboard has a navigation scheme where the header / subnav are located at the top, with major actions and status information positioned in a right-sidebar. I've gotten some limited feedback from new customers the action buttons are "hard to find", or that they don't know how to accomplish some things due to their location. Because of this, I'm currently evaluating moving the subnav and the sidebar to the right-hand side. Some shots of the current layout: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/156966/cashboard_nav/right-sidebar.png http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/156966/cashboard_nav/timesheet.png Shots of the layout I'm evaluating: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/156966/cashboard_nav/left-sidebar.png http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/156966/cashboard_nav/timesheet-left.png After interacting with the new prototype, I'm realizing some things. - The current nav scheme I have allows me to eliminate the sidebar all together and reclaim that space for screens that need it. See the "timesheet" png files for an illustration. - Long-scrolling pages with lots of content look empty as you move down the page. The effect is very jarring - and feels like there's wasted space on the left. My gut is telling me that having the content as the main item on the page (on the left) is the best solution - since it's the item that customers will interact with the most. I'm leaning towards keeping the same layout, and sacrificing some ease of learnability for ease of usability in the long run. Fans of Cooper's "Inmates" will recognize this as design for the "intermediates", which I'm a believer in. Thoughts to the contrary are welcome :) -------------------- seth - subimage llc ----- http://sublog.subimage.com ----- Cashboard - Estimates, invoices, and time tracking software - for free! http://www.getcashboard.com ----- Substruct - Open source RoR e-commerce software. http://code.google.com/p/substruct/ On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 4:11 AM, Chris Wright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > do people have any opinions on these? > > i know left hand is normal, and i understand its todo with how users scan a > page... but can a right hand menu work? > > anyone have any fews on the pros and cons? > > > Cheers, > > Chris > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
