If you do not know what they are, watch this very informative talk by designer Sally Woellner at TEDx Sydney in 2022.

She takes us through four Dark Patterns (DP) commonly used in user experience (UX) design.

Dark Patterns are design tricks used in the process of designing online interfaces to manipulate our behaviour in a way that serves the agenda of the website owner (buy what we do not need, spend more than we intended to, release more information on ourselves than is necessary etc), but not that of the user.

Some years ago, my research took me to look into how design manipulates behaviour. This is especially critical in online environments because they are completely mediated, i.e., we do not have direct access to “things” as we do in the physical environment. In the physical world, you can see, touch, and sit on a chair, or hold a cup in your hand. It is not the case when you are online. I do not know if you have ever thought about it, but the only direct experience you have when online is through an interface. HOW that interface is designed is not neutral. And since most online environments we dwell in are in one way or another trying to get something from us (money, data etc), there is a very strong incentive to play the biases of the human mind to direct users’ behaviours.

I will not go into the background theories of why Dark Patterns “work” here (it will be for another post). I want to present some useful content that will help you understand and detect them. Because when you know about them, you can recognise them and are less likely to fall for them.

Today, there is an abundance of online content explaining what they are and how to spot them. I first came across the name Dark Patterns in the mid 2010s when I found a video by a UK User Experience (UX) practitioner called Harry Brignull and his site Darkpatterns.org. It is worth checking this site (and the one below)! You will be amazed at the ingenuity of some of those patterns that have been arranged in categories by types. Some have interesting names such as “ConfirmShaming”, “Roach Motel”, or “Privacy Zuckering”, reflecting their unpleasant nature (and the elevation of Zuck to Greatest Villain of the early 21st Century?). He collected 400 of them in his Hall of Shame. The biggest offenders? Google, Facebook, Amazon and LinkedIn (are you surprised?)

How Dark Patterns trick you online (2018). This is a good introduction. Also read the comments, they make you realise the depth of the problem due to a lack of awareness).

Harry Brignull also recommends this website: https://darkpatterns.uxp2.com. This group of UX researchers at Purdue University investigates how making Dark Patterns more recognisable can lead to a more ethical and socially responsible UX practice. They also compile real examples of Dark Patterns on websites that you probably use (check the “corpus search” tab). You can also report some Dark Patterns you have come across. Below is a SlideShare summarising their work and findings.

//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/CtUP7a10TBPFvB

The Dark (Patterns) Side of UX Design from colin gray