Proposed by Jakob Nielsen: since users spend most of their time elsewhere, cross-site conventions become learned expectations — cart icon top-right, logo top-left linking home, search behind a magnifier.
Being original isn't bad, but **moving core navigation forces users to relearn it every visit**. Differentiate through content, tone and visuals — keep the spots people rely on muscle memory for conventional.
A scrambles the cart/search positions; B follows convention. Watch how long the cursor hunts before landing.
When to use
Before redesigning navigation or icon placement, ask whether "doing it our own way" actually adds value here.