The Flip Side of Fitts' Law

[jducoeur]

Not to give too many spoilers, but here is a delightful little article in Coding Horror, pointing out that there is an important corollary to Fitts' Law that is just as important, and which every UI designer and engineer should know, but which doesn't get pointed out enough.

(Any programming article that successfully uses rocket-propelled ejector seats as a crucial metaphor gets a thumbs-up in my book...)

Comments

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[laurion]

Well put, and with excellent examples. Thanks for the link!

[dryfoo.livejournal.com]

A related point: lots of apps have such a busy window that it's hard to find an inactive place to click -- to undo an accidental drag-select, for instance. It's the GUI version of having a clean bit of -- in a kitchen -- having a clean bit of towel to wipe a finger with. It's something you hardly notice, until the app is so crowded that you can't find anyplace to neutral click. I don't even know if there's a name for it.

[eclecticmagpie.livejournal.com]

Nice article. My own personal "gotcha" of this nature is the "close tab" spot that is invisible until I accidentally click on it while trying to select that tab to bring to the front, in Firefox. Safari has the same placement of the control, but at least it's always visible.