This talk was originally given at SXSW Interactive 2016, presented by Neil Dawson and Cristina Viganò. As designers, we sometimes find ourselves on a knife edge between user needs and business goals. It can be tempting to fall back to “dark patterns” - processes designed to trick users - because they are a shortcut to results. However, the use of dark patterns isn’t conducive to a good night’s sleep. Most of us want to find solutions that don’t resort to deceiving users. This talk will explore alternatives to infamous and common dark patterns, with a focus on how we can use psychological principles and persuasive design techniques to meet goals through encouragement rather than deception.

1. #uxblackout

2. ryanair.comWalmart

3. ryanair.com

4. medium.com/@danrschlosser/linkedin-dark-patterns-3ae726fe1462

5. linkedin.com

6. DARK TIMES
FOR DARK PATTERNS
#uxblackout

7. UX Designer
Cyber-Duck
@CrVigano
Senior Experience Designer
AnalogFolk
@NeilDawson
CRISTINA VIGANÒ NEIL DAWSON

8. HOW TO IDENTIFY
DARK PATTERNS

9. HANLON’S RAZOR

10. – Hanlon’s Razor
“Never attribute to malice that
which can be adequately
explained by stupidity.”

11. tshirtstudio.com

12. PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASIVE
TECHNOLOGY DESIGN

13. – Principles of Persuasive Technology
“The intended outcome [shouldn’t] be
deemed unethical if the persuasion were
undertaken without the technology”
Towards an Ethics of Persuasive Technology, Daniel Berdichevsky &

14. – Principles of Persuasive Technology
“The creators of a persuasive technology
must consider, contend with, and assume
responsibility for all reasonably
predictable outcomes of its use.”
Towards an Ethics of Persuasive Technology, Daniel Berdichevsky &

15. – Principles of Persuasive Technology
“Persuasive technologies must not
misinform in order to achieve their
persuasive end.”
Towards an Ethics of Persuasive Technology, Daniel Berdichevsky &

16. alistapart.com/article/design-white-lies-ethics

17. alistapart.com/article/design-white-lies-ethics

18. WHITE LIES

19. – Dan Turner
White lies should increase
the user’s effectiveness.
alistapart.com/article/design-white-lies-ethics

20. – Dan Turner
White lies should provide
actionable intelligence.
alistapart.com/article/design-white-lies-ethics

21. – Dan Turner
White lies should move the
user toward their desired outcome.
alistapart.com/article/design-white-lies-ethics

22. SocietyUserDesigner
Evil
Commercial
Motivational
Charitable
LinkedIn’s technique
Evil by Design, Chris Nodder, evilbydesign.info
Selfish Altruistic

23. HOW TO IDENTIFY DARK PATTERNS
Hanlon’s Razor
Does it seem deliberate?
Persuasive Principles
Is it persuasion or deception?
White Lies
Is the deception well intentioned?
Benefit Chart
Who benefits most?

24. WHAT ALTERNATIVES
DO WE HAVE?

25. RAISE
AWARENESS
CONVERT RETAIN

26. RAISE
AWARENESS
CONVERT RETAIN

27. ADVERTISEMENT
Raise awareness

28. DISGUISED ADS
download.com

29. DISGUISED ADS
ilpost.it

30. DISGUISED ADS
Google Maps

31. KAIROS
morallymarketed.com/marketing-ethics/you-are-not-stuck-in-traffic-you-are-traffic

32. KAIROS AND REDUCTION
Waze for iOS, twitter.com/wazeads/status/558789999999467522

33. REDUCTION
Action
No action
Motivation
Task Difficulty
Adapted from BJ Fogg’s behaviour model, behaviormodel.org

34. PROMOTE SOCIAL SHARING
Raise awareness

35. FRIEND SPAM
healthypage.comlinkedin.com

36. REINFORCEMENT
Uber for iOS, uber.com

37. REINFORCEMENT
websofinfluence.com/webs-of-influence-free-download

38. PUBLIC COMMITMENT
Facebook posts from Runtastic (runtastic.com) and Strava (strava.com)

39. CONVERT RETAIN
RAISE
AWARENESS

40. GET PEOPLE TO SIGN UP
Convert

41. HIDDEN OPTIONS
Windows 8.1, Feb 2014

42. HIDDEN OPTIONS
Windows 8.1, Feb 2014

43. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY AND SOCIAL PROOF
gathercontent.com/pricing-plans

44. Number of options
Likelihoodofaction
6 flavours
24 flavours
The Art of Choosing

45. GET PEOPLE TO BUY
Convert

46. SNEAK INTO BASKET
sportsdirect.com

47. sportsdirect.com
SNEAK INTO BASKET

48. URGENCY
made.com

49. URGENCY
sxsw.com

50. SCARCITY
amazon.co.uk

51. ANCHORING
apple.com

52. CONVERT RETAIN
RAISE
AWARENESS

53. KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED
Retain

54. PRESELECTED OPTIONS
ryanair.comWalmart

55. NEGATIVE SENTENCES
WalmartRoyal Mail

56. REINFORCEMENT
PayPal

57. COMPLETE A SET
paypal.com

58. STOP PEOPLE FROM LEAVING
Retain

59. ROACH MOTEL
asos.com

60. ROACH MOTEL
asos.com

61. ROACH MOTEL
justdelete.me

62. ROACH MOTEL
audible.com

63. Ethical alternatives
codeacademy.com
DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE

64. LOSS AVERSION
change.org

65. TAILORING
lynda.com

66. WHY DARK PATTERNS
SHOULD BE AVOIDED

67. theguardian.com/business/2014/feb/17/ryanair-easyjet-fined-travel-insurance

68. ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2005/06/childrens-book-publisher-pay-710000-settle-charges-it-violated

69. fastcodesign.com/3051906/fast-feed/after-lawsuit-settlement-linkedins-dishonest-design-is-now-a-13-million-problem

70. CREDIBILITY
ThresholdCredibility
Operator
Content
Design
Adapted from BJ Fogg’s web credibility framework

71. blog.linkedin.com/2015/07/27/less-email-from-linkedin/

72. – Audible, Inc
“We invite the Dark Patterns
community along with simonw to
review our changes.”
web.archive.org/web/20101118055056/http://wiki.darkpatterns.org/wiki/Forced_Continuity

73. innovations.ahrq.gov/profiles/full-disclosure-medical-errors-reduces-malpractice-claims-and-claim-costs-health-system

74. IDENTIFY DARK PATTERNS
SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVES
ADVOCATE ALTERNATIVES

75. Persuasive Technology
B. J. Fogg
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
Susan Weinschenk
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Nir Eyal
Evil by Design
Chris Nodder
darkpatterns.org
Harry Brignull

76. DARK TIMES
FOR DARK PATTERNS
#uxblackout
UX Designer
Cyber-Duck
@CrVigano
Senior Experience Designer
AnalogFolk
@NeilDawson
CRISTINA VIGANÒ NEIL DAWSON