Most of us use switches every day in various forms. And although there are sometimes general norms in countries as to which direction is "on", there is variation between countries.
So when developing a product with a switch in it, which direction makes the most sense for "on", and why?
I'm not talking about other ways of showing that they will be on or off, I'm more talking about whether "on" is up, down, left, or right. Any research on this would be appreciated.
Answer
It appears to be dependent on country or region, as Wikpedia states in the article Light Switch:
The direction which represents "on" also varies by country. In the USA and Canada and Mexico and the rest of North America, it is usual for the "on" position of a toggle switch to be "up", whereas in many other countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, and in New Zealand it is "down." ... In countries prone to earthquakes, such as Japan, most switches are positioned sideways to prevent the switch from inadvertently being turned on or off by falling objects.
So there is really no direction globally true, if we believe in Wikipedia. Up or down or sideways differs by region. From what I learned in school (but I can't find a reference too now) is that vertical motion elecric switches use a metaphor for determin which is which. As an eyelid opens, the eye can see, meaning the switch is on. When the eyelid closes, we can't see, meaning the switch is off.
This metaphor works for electric switches, light switches and (modern) fuses.
But there is a problem. Electronics switches seems to have the metaphor crushed if you do image searches. You find all sorts of switches where Up is off and Down is on.
Or at least there are no consistency in direction
To conclude - be careful relying only on direction. An informative text or indicator light would certainly make it easier for your users.
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