The history of computing is full of curious details that may seem obvious to us because we have always known them. These details are part of our daily lives and so we do not dwell on them. One of these mysteries is the design of the mouse cursor, this little arrow that has accompanied us every day for many years to the point that we no longer pay attention to it.
Have you ever wondered why the cursor is tilted to the left and not just pointing up? Or, better yet, why (on Windows, at least) it is asymmetrical? Did you even notice this asymmetry? We explain everything to you!
Good reasons to tilt the mouse cursor!
The history of the mouse cursor begins in 1981, with a certain Douglas Engelbart, a Xerox engineer best known for inventing the computer mouse. A true visionary who, a few years earlier in December 1968, had become the first to show the world some of the basics of what would become modern computing (windows, graphics, hypertext, word processing, collaborative editing, file links and videoconferencing) during what is now called " the mother of all demos "(The Mother of All Demos).
Engelbart originally envisioned the mouse cursor as a simple arrow pointing upwards. However, this vertical design would soon prove to suffer from clear technical and usability limitations, especially considering the low screen resolution of this time.
So here are some of the reasons why the mouse cursor might be slanted:
- Visibility : On the low-resolution displays of the early days of computer graphics, a vertical cursor was difficult to distinguish and could easily be confused with other characters or graphic elements. The tilt helped the cursor stand out, making it easier for users to locate it.
- Pixel precision : Tilting the cursor improves accuracy when selecting objects on the screen. By tilting the arrowhead, it allows for more precise selection, something that a vertical or square shape could not offer with the same efficiency.
- Accelerated visual processing : From a visual cognition perspective, humans more easily process objects and shapes that deviate from the common vertical and horizontal orientations in our environment. A tilted cursor stands out more quickly in the vast visual information landscape of a screen.
- A little technical help : In the early days of computing, cursor tilt also offered a technical advantage. It simplified position calculations for programmers, since the tip of the arrow, being the origin of the mouse cursor, made tracking and clicking accuracy easier.
This is why it was decided quite quickly to tilt the mouse cursor 45° to the left and this is still the case today!
An asymmetrical mouse cursor
Some time ago, a photo of the Windows 10 mouse cursor made the rounds on the internet, highlighting its blatant asymmetry compared to its macOS cousin. This “anomaly”, which you probably never noticed despite hours of use, became obvious with a good zoom and a few red lines to highlight the imbalance.
But far from being a mistake, this asymmetry is a deliberate choice. Optical balance does not always coincide with geometric balance, and sometimes it is necessary to create uneven designs so that the eye can have an impression of symmetry. Thus, in some cases, for a design to appear harmonious to our eyes, it is necessary to cheat on symmetry. Surprising, isn't it? Moreover, Google and Nintendo have understood this well, as demonstrated by the images below!
