Brian Cassidy — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:13:16 GMT

I wouldn’t say that the fold is necessarily a “myth”. It is a real barrier albeit one that has been paved over to more of a speed bump because users have become accustomed over the years to using one of the more simple inherent functions of a browser, the scroll bar. Also, we, as in the UI designers, have no one to blame but ourselves for reinforcing the fold. If we have been responsible designers we are probably doing wireframes to scale (or close to scale) and our Visio templates are set to letter or legal in landscape orientation so that we can (and out clients can) print out our deliverables on regular paper. Our designs then tend to conform to this. We need to break away from this constraint.

As you suggest, keeping functionality away from the fold and to use visual cues to suggest that there is something worthwhile to scroll to, is the key. Again, as responsible designers, we can and should influence all of the folks that depend upon our deliverables – the business owners, visual designers and developers – to remember that the fold is real but not to be afraid of it.

Now, how about the right hand fold? Meaning, scrolling from left to right. Now that is a reality. Is that the next barrier to true freedom?

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Brian Cassidy