Banner Logo or Corner Logo?

[aspen]

Just thought this would be a fun discussion to have.

Personally I'm partial to banner logo's, just the way I am. I'm also partial to top menu bars unless absolutely necessary to have a side one, so that lends itself to having a top banner.

Just for reference here and here. Are what I mean by banner logos, and then sitepoint would be an example of a corner logo.

Chris

[dominique]

I think top banners are good when you only have 2 or 3 links to display, but when you have a site like SitePoint

I'm really much more partial to corner logos with a side menu bar. It's much more handy if you ask me, and it doesn't look too cluttered.

I think top banners should be 100 pixels thick at the most. But if you have to add too many links to it it becomes disorienting.

[Justin S]

Yeah, I like corner logos much better. In my opinion people shouldn't make "banner logos" unless they have like zero content at all. They look too big anyway. The way SitePoint displays their logo is just how I like it. Maybe a little bigger.

[Park T]

I like corner logos on forums. I like banner logos on regular sites more unprofessional.

[Nicky]

I prefer corner logos, I find them easier to use. If you look at the psychology side of computing, it has been proven that people read easier when the important items ar eplaced at the top left of the screen!

[mjames]

I also like corner logos, but you can also have banner logos which look good and work. It depends on the case.

[jamesglewisf]

Aspen,

This is a cool discussion. I guess I'm going with the corner logo. I think it gives you more options.

[Smarky]

I don't like sites that only have the navagation features at the top i perfer them on the left side. And i find then on the right hand side harder to use not that is excatly a harder thing to do just its more accessable on the the left.

[aspen]

And i find then on the right hand side harder to use not that is excatly a harder thing to do just its more accessable on the the left.

Now this is interesting.

If you think about it most people's mouse stays on the right side of the screen, I know mine does, thats where the scroll bar is. Sure I have the wheel but I still often use the scroll bar. And I'm sure the less computer literate people probably use the wheel less. Also on the top right is where you find the quick close, maximize, and minimize buttons. Then there is the fact that most people are right handed (may be a factor, may not be)

So, if thats true, we can assume that most people by default keep their mouse on the right side of the screen. So from a usability standpoint it would be better to position the menu on the right side of the screen.

Of course we know that since pages are generated left to right this would of course create a problem in some instances if your menubar is verticle. However a horizontal menu positioned towards the right (which is what I believe velocity was talking about) would be a beneficial way to go.

And as far as horizontal menu's, I really think they are superior to left sided ones.

Some sites that either use a horizontal menu, or use it as their main menu with side submenu's

• Microsoft
• AllAdvantage
• Altavista
• Amazon
• Wired
• Monster

I'm sure the list goes on. I'd be willing to bet that someone did a psychological study that said that a person's attention to first drawn to whats at the top of the screen. Either that or common sense dictated it. And thus a horizontal menu near the top is going to be a high traffic area for clicking mice everywhere.

Chris

[Elledan]

Corner logos look always better, IMHO

Not sure about horizontal menus... They tend to give problems on bigger sites, so they can only be used for a few quick links (different main sections of a site, for example).

[Megs]

I'm pretty sure that Jacob Neilsen has discussed that before, Aspen. I do think, however, that people have kind of gotten used to looking for the menu on the left. It's become a sort of standard for some reason.

As for vertical vs. horizontal, it really depends on your design and your site structure. It seems like a lot of the bigger sites use both, which is a good way to separate different types of navigation. It also depends on how many menu options you're going to have and how you organize them.

It seems that corner logos work better with horizonal nav, and banner logos work well with vertical menus. There could always be exceptions though. It's all about balancing the horizontal and vertical organization of the page.