Jakob's Law

야콥의 법칙

Users spend most of their time on other sites, so they expect yours to work the same way. Novel layouts must be relearned every time.

Also known as: Jakob Nielsen
···
html
<div class="stage">
  <div class="pane"><div class="tag">A</div>
    <div class="bar-top">
      <span class="ic magnifier" style="left:62%"></span>
      <span class="ic cart" style="left:14%"></span>
    </div>
    <div class="cur" id="c1">➤</div>
  </div>
  <div class="pane"><div class="tag">B</div>
    <div class="bar-top">
      <span class="ic magnifier" style="left:10%"></span>
      <span class="ic cart" style="right:10%;left:auto"></span>
    </div>
    <div class="cur" id="c2">➤</div>
  </div>
</div>
css
.stage{width:94%;height:88%;display:flex;gap:4%}
.pane{position:relative;flex:1;border-radius:14px;border:1px solid var(--line);background:var(--surface);overflow:hidden}
.bar-top{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;height:24%;border-bottom:1px solid var(--line);background:var(--bg)}
.ic{position:absolute;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);width:16px;height:16px}
.magnifier{border:2px solid var(--muted);border-radius:50%}
.magnifier::after{content:'';position:absolute;width:7px;height:2px;background:var(--muted);right:-5px;bottom:-1px;transform:rotate(45deg);border-radius:1px}
.cart{background:var(--accent-2);border-radius:2px;clip-path:polygon(10% 0,90% 0,80% 100%,20% 100%)}
.tag{position:absolute;top:8px;left:10px;font:700 11px/1 monospace;color:var(--muted);z-index:3}
.cur{position:absolute;font-size:16px;transform:rotate(-45deg);color:var(--fg);left:50%;top:70%}
#c1{animation:hunt 3s ease-in-out infinite}
#c2{animation:direct 1.1s ease-out infinite}
@keyframes hunt{0%{left:46%;top:70%}20%{left:66%;top:12%}40%{left:60%;top:60%}55%{left:18%;top:12%}75%{left:78%;top:12%}100%{left:78%;top:12%}}
@keyframes direct{0%{left:46%;top:70%}80%{left:88%;top:12%}100%{left:88%;top:12%}}

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.