Why the kitchen doesn’t belong upstairs

I just got back from a lake house trip with the family.

And like any new place, the first few minutes are a little disorienting. You walk in, bags in hand, and start looking for the essentials: bathroom, kitchen, light switches, maybe the thermostat if you're a dad like me.

But here's what makes it easier. People have a built-in map of how a house should be laid out.

The kitchen? Usually just past the front door, near the garage. Half bath? Tucked in a corner on the main floor. Bedrooms? Upstairs. You don't need a floor plan, you feel it out intuitively.

Now imagine this: you open the front door and the garage leads directly into the primary bedroom. The kitchen is on the second floor. The bathroom's in a closet under the stairs.

Technically, it works… but everything feels off. That's because your mental model—your internal design system—just got thrown in the trash.

This is exactly what happens when you customize your app icons.

At first, it feels like a fun way to personalize your phone. Match your vibe, your aesthetic. But what you're actually doing is erasing every visual landmark your brain uses to navigate.

Watch this. Open your phone right now. How long does it take you to find Spotify? Instagram? You're not reading labels. You're scanning for green, purple, specific shapes. That's muscle memory.

The home screen is your entry point. There's no context. Just shapes, colors, and placements. Change those, and it's like walking into a building where every sign is the same font, same color, same size. No exit. No front desk. Just guesswork.

Design isn't just about how things look. It's about how they mean. Color tells you where to go. Shape creates familiarity. Placement builds muscle memory.

Change all that, and your phone suddenly feels harder to use… even if it looks cooler.

This mental models principle applies to every interface you design. Master it, and stakeholders notice. Ignore it, and users struggle.

We talk about this a lot in Shift Nudge. Whether you're designing a portfolio, a mobile UI, or a website, consistency creates trust. It's the difference between friction and flow.

Great design honors the mental models people already have, then builds something beautiful within them.