Expectation and Surprise

Abstract

Throughout our design process, we need to contend with user expectations. You’ve already explored how expectations can be shaped by past experiences and accepted conventions, which shape the mental models users bring to our product. The flip side to expectation is surprise. It’s an emotion that holds a lot of weight, and one that is bandied around in the design world without much thought beyond the surface-level cringiness of overzealous pushing for surprise and delight. We should be able to intuit this from our own lived experiences: not all surprises are good. In this chapter, you’ll explore the various forms surprise can take and how effectively balancing this against conventional expectations can help you build products that are both seamless and meaningful. But how does surprise even come about?