Why the add button lives in the bottom right corner
The NestBoard team · 2026-07-03
The problem with top-left anything
Most apps put their primary action button wherever looks balanced on a phone screen. But a kitchen tablet isn't a phone. It's mounted on the wall or propped on the counter, often at chest height or higher. And you're usually holding something when you need to use it.
We noticed this early: testers kept reaching for the bottom right corner. Not because they were trained to, but because that's where your thumb naturally lands when you're holding a wooden spoon in your other hand and need to add "buy more garlic" to the pantry list.
The reachability zone is different when the screen is fixed
On a phone, you cradle the device and adjust your grip. On a wall-mounted tablet, the screen doesn't move. Your hand has to do all the work.
The bottom third of a 10-inch tablet screen is the comfortable zone. The right side is easier to reach with your dominant hand. The very bottom right corner? That's the spot you can tap while barely breaking stride.
So that's where the main add button lives. Not floating. Not in the center. Not hidden in a menu. Always in the same spot, large enough to hit with a knuckle if your fingers are wet from rinsing lettuce.
Spatial consistency as muscle memory
We apply this thinking to other high-frequency actions too. The date picker opens from the top. Navigation stays on the left edge. The Robin assistant button sits in the bottom left corner, opposite the add button.
Once you've used NestBoard for a few days, your hand knows where to go without looking. You can add a calendar event while watching the stove. You can check tomorrow's chores while drying your hands on a towel.
That consistency matters more than visual novelty. We're not trying to surprise you with where the button is today. We're trying to disappear so you can just add the dentist appointment and get back to dinner.
Ergonomics over aesthetics
The bottom right corner isn't the most elegant place for a button. It would look more balanced centered at the bottom, or tucked into a toolbar. But "looks balanced in a screenshot" isn't the same as "feels right when you're carrying a toddler and need to mark the milk as expired."
We optimize for the moment when your hands are full. When you're wearing oven mitts. When you're elbow-deep in prepping vegetables and remember that tomorrow is library day.
The add button lives in the bottom right corner because that's where your thumb is.