We are creatures of habit; why it's worth sticking to some design conventions

I was looking to subscribe by RSS to a blog, but could I find the link I was looking for?! A moment of frustration.

Having scrolled up and down, and having tried different pages, I eventually found it.

It's big enough you might think, so why didn't I "see" it, despite having looked at it?

It even says "RSS subscription" in capital letters!

Later that same day I was on another website and found the RSS icon easily, despite it being far smaller.

So, I thought, in the first case the RSS icon might be big, but it's also green and round. For whatever reason, the RSS icon has always been orange, and square:

That must be why I didn't find the first one easily.

However, later that day, yet another site, and this time the RSS icon is square, though small and GREY, almost transparent. And yet I had no problem "seeing" it.

So, it's quite possible that not only does the colour, size and shape count, but also its location (left / right, top / bottom) and its proximity, not only to the content channel or item in question, but also to other page elements.

All these properties: size, shape, number, colour and location work together to make a familiar element recognisable. Not to the mention the fact that many web conventions shape user expectations (logo linking to home page, banner blindness, pop-up aversion among others).

There are various green circles on the blog (top); all competing with each other for your (my) attention, and blurring together with the branding of the site.

The overall effect is essentially an invisibility shield; impenetrable to the quick scan.

Although there may be aesthetic arguments in favour of a consistent colour scheme and original layouts, there are some design conventions that, for the sake of user efficiency and avoiding frustration, are just worth sticking too.