right align, left align

Having worked on several UI assignments, a recurring issue is ..how do you align action buttons at the end of forms? Research reveals that users scan pages from the top left to bottom right. By this logic, makes sense to place buttons on the right hand bottom corner of the form. There is a contrasting view which argues that the mouse has to travel a longer distance this way and hence the shortest way to get to the buttons is to place them on the left. I'm for the former view as a general rule but it makes sense to test a few pages with your sample set of users and see what works best for them! Usability, I believe, is very subjective as users are varied and so are their needs.

thoughts on design, usability, color, form...and life

design is everything! Said a famous design guru and i must say i agree...with a slight difference...design is everywhere. Look around you and you see it in the shape of your keyboard keys, you feel it through the back of of your 'ergonomic' chair; you curse it as you enter your house in the dark and fumble for the light switch which should have been right by the door...but darn it, it isn't!! Ah, design makes its presence...or absence felt. Call it usability or user experience, i think its all about how you design products or systems to make the user feel "Oh, that was so easy" .. just like creating this blog was for me!

so, will continue on this journey of good and bad design for as long as life shall be.