I'm working on a (web) design that implements both an identity (user) context, and an organization context -- similar in the way that GitHub allows you to log in as yourself, then be a member of one or more organization and switch between them.
The site design as it currently exists today has a side navigation, and a top context bar, with the identity control residing at the bottom of the nav bar:
[ logo bread > crumb ]
[ nav ]
[ nav ]
[ nav ]
[ usr ]
[ org ]
This obviously deviates from some of the more conventional placements of such a control -- most big players place it top-right, while some do top-middle or top-left.
My question is twofold:
- Is there a behavioral or psychological benefit to placing the identity control in the top-right?
- Is there a usability downside (or upside) to placing the control in the bottom-left or top-right?
Answer
Is there a behavioral or psychological benefit to placing the identity control in the top-right?
Reading Gravity - Top-right is a 'strong fallow' area
Various models that describe reading gravity (for languages that read left-to-right) make the top-right a 'strong fallow' area. So it's not a primary location in the reading/scanning process, but it gets seen early on, making it a great location for important but secondary actions (actions that are important overall, but not related to the primary function of a specific screen/page)
Is there a usability downside (or upside) to placing the control in the bottom-left or top-right?
Bottom-left doesn't meet users' expectations
Putting links relating to account (login/out, switching, etc.) in the top right is a very common design pattern, and part of designing good interfaces involves meeting user expectations.
By putting this links elsewhere, you're messing with a strong design convention, and potentially making users think and scan unnecessarily.
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