Regarding my previous posts about time-axis, Tadashi Kobayashi has pointed out that the design of temporal orientation, i.e. time-axis, is in fact specified in an ISO standard. The standard orientation should be left-to-right to indicate time progress.
ISO 1503:2008
Spatial orientation and direction of movement — Ergonomic requirementsAbstract
ISO 1503:2008 sets out design principles, procedures, requirements and recommendations for the spatial orientation and direction of movement of controls and displays used in tool machines, industrial robots, office machines, earth‑moving machinery, transportation (automobiles, railway electric cars/rolling stock, aircraft, ships, etc.), information, daily commodities, public utilities and the operational components of building facilities.
It lays down basic requirements for determining the operating direction of controls and the moving directions or changing states of the target object, as well as other relations.
Thanks to Mr. Kobayashi for the information. Unfortunately, since I do not have access to this ISO paper, there is no way I could verify and find out further information about the standard of spatial orientation. Hopefully the Flickr crew, as well as other UI developers will find this information useful.
Related posts:
- Time-axis Orientation (Part 2)
- Flickr New Interface, Time-axis Orientation
- North Is Not Always Pointing Up – Orientation of Train Station Maps in Japan
