Never forget you are a consumer
I regularly get pulled into discussions about design ethics and dark patterns. These conversations are quite heated. A fellow designer even went as far as mentioning he would rather work on meaningful things than being someone who persuaded people with their designs. Like me.
Did that comment hurt? No. Being a Persuasion Designer doesn’t mean you should use all the dirty tricks in the book. It is about walking the fine line between bad ethics and a great persuasion technique which doesn’t mislead users but does, for instance, increase your conversion rate. It’s about taking away doubt, frustration and anxiety, not creating it. Sounds meaningful to me.
Helping people feel secure about something they already want is one of the things I try to accomplish with my designs. I won’t make a design that will trick users into doing something that isn’t in their best interest.
Fooling users has nothing to do with good design.
Why some UX Designers still use dark patterns
Remember the old Ryanair website? The one where you, if you weren’t cautious, would accidentally order six suitcases, book a rental car and add 25 pounds of extra baggage? It was the first website where I encountered ‘dark patterns.’ I was a consumer (not a designer yet), and I hated those pesky pre-filled checkboxes they used.
When I became a designer, I never forgot that I am a consumer, too
Some designers think they will spot dark patterns when shopping and that is how they justify using them. If I can see through it, it can’t be that bad, right?
Making things extra hard for users, like in the example below, is something to stay away from. Dark patterns like this are unethical; there is no denying it.
Remember why you became a UX Designer
I don’t know about you, but I became a UX Designer to be an advocate for the user, not to use cheap tricks to lure users into doing things they don’t want.
It is our job to take users by the hand and take away their frustration, anxiety, and insecurity with our designs. It’s our job to be the gatekeeper and to protect consumers.
And while you are designing, never forget you are a consumer, too.
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