Trend 06
Dark UX
Dark UX
Dark patterns.
Dark patterns
While UX puts users at the centre and smooths their path in digital environments, there is another side of the coin that uses design with bad intentions: strategies some brands use to deceive their users and get more clicks, subscriptions or profit unethically. These are designs that, from the outset, create mistrust, generate tension in the relationship and cause displeasure, and they have a negative effect on both the user experience and the brand's reputation.
Harry Brignull, a PhD in Cognitive Science, named these practices dark patterns and shares on his website the frustrations of many users with these tricks.
New transparency policies and privacy regulations denounce these practices, which seek the company's benefit without thinking of the end user and therefore directly harm UX.
Cases
01 / 05Zorraquino spotlights
- 01
Deception may seem beneficial in the short term, but it is not a sustainable long-term strategy.
- 02
Good UX means clear design in which users can feel confident and take every action intentionally, knowingly and willingly.
- 03
Users demand transparency and responsibility from brands, and simple, clear navigation.
More on the trend
References
- Dark Patterns
- Dark Patterns: el lado oscuro del UX
- WTF is Dark Pattern Design
- The Year Dark Pattern Won
- Dark Patterns in UX: How Designers Should Be Responsible for their Actions
- Los seis principios de la persuasión
- How Tiny Red Dots Took Over Your Life
- Add psychology to your web design
- Dark Patterns and the Ethics of Design
Pages 156–194 of the report
