A little while back, Six Revisions, gave us the opportunity to write a guest blog post on how to design browser themes. I’m going to borrow from that post to highlight the element of logos in the browser theme. It’s mostly a challenge in Firefox because of added capability, and potential pitfalls.
Firefox allows insertion of a logo to the left of the navigation buttons. Your logo can actually shift the entire navigation area to the right. For a brand, this is great. Users, however, have a strong preference for back button to stay where it is, call it “muscle memory,” and it creates frustration if it’s moved too far from its original position. If you need logo design guidance you can navigate here.
Check out the short 60-second video below for visual help and references, but also keep the following in mind:
- Square or vertical logos work better because they limit how much the browser navigation must shift
- If you have a horizontal logo, keep the width to a minimum or consider working it into the background instead
- Logo placement is not blocked by any browser element, so it’s an option to have an unobstructed image
- Logo placement is clickable and can drive traffic to your homepage (note: this feature is not turned on in the private beta)
