ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE PRINCIPLE OF LEAST ASTONISHMENT

Summary from the TLDR Design newsletter

A product that frequently astonishes its users — in the wrong way — can be frustrating and hard to navigate. The underlying idea of the principle of least astonishment (POLA), deeply rooted in cognitive science, establishes that our brains rely on mental models to predict how something should behave based on experience. Designers should prioritize core actions, use familiar patterns, strive for multi-platform consistency, and prioritize clarity over style to incorporate POLA in their work.