Don’t Let Good Design Fool You | UX Rewind ep. 2

Did you know that good design doesn’t always mean good UX? I used to feel completely overwhelmed when booking a hotel or shopping online. Then, I realized it wasn’t a coincidence.

Woman in White Shirt Showing Frustration | Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

Many popular platforms intentionally use the dark side of design, known as Dark Patterns, to create anxiety in ways that benefit the company. Dark patterns are manipulative design tricks that look great but secretly push you into making rushed or expensive decisions.

Dark Patterns: Visual or Wording Tricks

Most travel companies often use this trick. Let’s look at Agoda as an example. When searching for accommodations, you are instantly bombarded with red text and flashing icons screaming, “ONLY 1 LEFT.” This creates an artificial sense of urgency, tricking you into making a rushed decision rather than a logical one.

High-Pressure Visual and Wording Tricks Found on Agoda

The worst part is that these red warnings continually appear at every step of the process until you finally complete the booking.

Red Warning Texts Appear Throughout Agoda’s Booking Process

They even employ a nagging tactic, using pop-up modals to pressure users into hurrying through checkout.

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Agoda’s Interruptive Pop-Up Modals to Pressure Users

Dark Patterns: Nagging

E-commerce platforms like Shopee are another culprit. Opening the app often feels like walking into a loud carnival. Full-screen pop-ups, live promotions, mini-games, and floating coins hijack your screen, interrupting your primary goal of simply finding a product.

The Pop-Up Overload on Shopee’s Launch

Additionally, clever wording and promo countdowns are often used to create a high sense of urgency, pressuring users to buy certain products quickly.

High-Pressure Copy and Countdown Timers on Shopee

To conclude, avoiding dark patterns could seem tricky, but it’s not impossible. Consider the user experience and replace manipulative tactics with transparent, user-centered design.

True usability empowers users to make confident and informed decisions instead of pressuring them into rushed ones.

A better approach is to provide honest context with neutral colors and clear availability rather than relying on panic-inducing red text and flashing icons. Another solution lies in prioritizing the user’s goal. By eliminating full-screen pop-ups at launch and cleaning up the content hierarchy, platforms can offer a distraction-free UX.

Reference

Rosala, M. (2023, December 1). Deceptive Patterns in UX: How to Recognize and Avoid Them. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/ articles/deceptive-patterns/