WEB DESIGN

USABILITY
LECTURE 15

SYED MUHAMMAD JUNAID HASSAN

• UX design is a lot like the Force from Star
Wars.
• Invisible and omnipresent, it exists all around
us influencing the way we feel and interact with
the products and services we use every day. 
• Like the Force, UX has a light side and a dark
side.
• And the line between the two is finer than
you’d think.
WHAT ARE DARK PATTERNS? 
• Dark patterns, also known as dark UX,
• take advantage of user behavior and psychology to trick
visitors into doing things they would not normally choose to
do.
• Instead of playing the long game of staking your case,
building your ethos, and convincing a lead to convert into a
sale,
• dark patterns trick users into making purchases by exploiting
browsing habits or preying on gambling tendencies. 
AN INFAMOUS EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THE
SHEER NUMBER OF HOOPS IT TAKES TO
CLOSE YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT
• To make matters worse, they constantly change their UX,
so you’ll have to relearn how to navigate to the contact
form needed to finally request an employee to close your
account.
TYPES OF DARK PATTERNS
• There are many different types of dark patterns
found on the web. Here are some of the more
common ones: 
• Sneak into Basket: Popular among shady
ecommerce sites, additional items are snuck into
your basket at purchase time. These items usually
appear as add-ons like unnecessary user-warranties.
• Roach Motel: Sites and apps that make it difficult to
close accounts or cancel subscriptions.
TYPES OF DARK PATTERNS
• Misdirection: Design purposefully draws your
attention to one thing to distract your attention from
another (e.g., faint information opt-out check boxes).
• Hidden Costs: Advertising a lower price sans
hidden fees that are only visible at final checkout.
• Forced Continuity: Free trials for premium
subscription models that neglect to remind you when
they come to an end, silently billing you monthly.
• Harry Brignull, the UX specialist who originally coined the
term dark patterns back in 2010, runs a website called
darkpatterns.org which keeps a handy Hall of Shame to
spread awareness of the worst practitioners of Dark UX.  
WHY DO SOME DESIGNERS TURN TO THE DARK SIDE?  

• With human-centered design as a guiding philosophy, the UX

designer’s primary goal is to design products that are a joy to use
from the perspective of the end-user. 
• But in practice, businesses are for-profit entities with profit-driven
goals such as sales numbers and quarterly earnings reports. 
• The same user data that can be used to craft a tailor-made UX that
caters to the needs of a target audience can also be used to exploit
the behavioral patterns of said audience. And therein lies the
temptation. 
WHY DO SOME DESIGNERS TURN TO THE DARK SIDE?  

• In the never-ending quest for more clicks, subscribers,

and sales, it’s all too easy to fall prey to the allure of dark
patterns.
• If you’ve ever struggled with subscription lists that are
next-to-impossible to quit, false notification icons that get
you to click, or pre-checked addons that try to get you to
upsell on a purchase, you’ve experienced first-hand the
dark patterns wielded by practitioners of Dark UX. 
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T TURN
TO THE DARK SIDE
• If the ethical dilemma of twisting human-centered design to
your own ends wasn’t enough to discourage you, it’s worth
pointing out that dark patterns come with some pretty
significant cons.
• Dark patterns aren’t just unethical, they also…
• Frustrate your users and tarnish your brand.
• Lead to higher customer churn.
• Prioritize short-term gains over long-term success
• Prioritize vanity metrics over the UX metrics that would actually improve
your apps and websites.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T TURN
TO THE DARK SIDE
• Dark patterns give you a false sense of the
performance of your website, and by extension, your
business.
• It’s entirely possible to gain the clicks, followers,
and sales you’re looking for with ethical human-
centered UX.
• Let’s take a look at the light side of UX design.
THE LIGHT SIDE: HUMAN-
CENTERED DESIGN
• On the light side, we have human-centered design, a
philosophy that places empathy for users at its core.
• White-hat UX designers use an iterative, feedback-
driven design process to balance the needs of end-
users, business stakeholders, and developers.
• The end result is a product that meets business goals
and satisfies users. 
THE TABLE BELOW SUMMARIZES THE THEMATIC DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE LIGHT AND DARK SIDES OF UX DESIGN:

• HUMAN-CENTERED UX • DARK UX DESIGN

DESIGN
• Streamline user flows by
removing the friction from the
process of performing the
desired action.
• Places choice in the hands of
users.
• Provide users all the
information they need to make
informed decisions.
• Complicates user flows by
adding friction to the process of
performing an undesired
action. 
• Uses the illusion of choice to
complicate decisions and
encourage a desired outcome.
• Withhold information in the
hopes users will take the
desired action.
PRESELECTED RADIO/CHECK
BOX
Twitter won’t even let you turn off their more annoying features.
There’s only a button to “see less” of them, and no one’s sure if it actually works.
EXAMPLES OF DARK PATTERNS
CONFIRM SHAMING
HIDDEN UNSUBSCRIBE
MISERABLE “NO” BUTTONS
NAGGING: NO OPTION FOR
"NO"
THE COMPLETE LACK OF “NO” BUTTONS

• people that don’t even include a “no” button, or an “exit” button.

• Google Play Music sometimes gives no way to listen to music unless someone either sign up
for their family plan, or refresh the page.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO NAGGING
PREDATORY FEATURES/MECHANICS

• Mobile games introduced the idea of the “loot box”, a purchase which will
always grant you some sort of digital reward within the game. But what you get
is randomized, so you can never be sure of getting what you want.
• Task: Collect few examples of dark patterns
 REFERENCES
• https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2019/08/how-prevalent-is-dark-ux/
• https://www.depalmastudios.com/blog/dark-patterns-why-you-dont-need-to-join-the-dark-side-of-
ux-design
• https://www.telerik.com/blogs/dark-patterns-ux