Discovering Aimbidextrous Hardware
Published Thu Jan 18 2024I am left handed. Nearly every detail of common life is designed for right-handed interactions. From door handles to button placement on the sides of smart phones, since right-handedness is default it is often the only option. As a life-long user, this doesn’t consciously bother me because I’ve never had a choice. I’ve never used a left-handed mouse.
Last month I got my brand new Supernote Nomad and was pleasantly surprised to learn it had been designed for left handed users. During setup, I was asked which hand I will be writing with and how I would like my writing tools positioned based on my choice. This is the only time I can recall that my device was designed to work with my dominant hand.
Since I’ve begun using this device daily I’ve noticed that left-handed layouts are unintuitive to me after years of using right-handed software. I am making a conscious decision to try it out despite my brain’s discomfort. This has made me reconsider the design of more of my everyday things.