Deceiving Users for Fun and Profit … or Just Profit

Dark patterns are deliberately deceptive design practices. They’re often — but not exclusively — used in e-commerce sites to earn a little more of the customer’s money, or to trick people into signing up for something they didn’t intend to.

For example, an ecommerce site may entice people with a too-good-to-be-true deal. Upon registering for the site to purchase, people then discover the item is out of stock, and are presented with similar (and slightly more expensive) items in its place. Bonus points if they’re automatically opted in to the site’s spammy newsletter upon registration.

.Honesty is about being open and clear and not hiding anything. A good design does that. #uxchat

— Jonathan Shariat (@DesignUXUI) March 11, 2016

Ads disguised as articles, prominent “download now” buttons with tiny headers explaining what users will really get; sites that use social media logins to spam your friends; free plans for which you get quietly billed next month … dark patterns do anything to advance the business goals at users’ expense. An entire website, DarkPatterns.org, catalogs examples in the wild.

What design practices earn users’ trust?

Consistency, informing of influence on decisions, easy/opt-in transitions to new. #uxchat #uxpin

— Danelle Bailey (@danellesheree) March 11, 2016

#uxchat #uxpin Designs that contradict what most users' mental models expect can also be deceiving

— Wendy Bravo (@WendyBravo) March 11, 2016

The Best Intentions Gone Awry

Not all dark patterns are intentional. They can come from designers who want to de-clutter pages from extra fees, like those. But hiding information from users can translate to deceptive business, especially for sites offering the lowest prices you’ll find anywhere.

Can you think of any time design should, shall we say, bend the truth?

I'd say Leading with intention from the company, from a place of service, toward the customer. #uxchat #uxpin

— Adam Fairhead (@AdamFairhead) March 11, 2016

Practicing Honest Design

How do we avoid dark patterns? Ideas vary, but a few themes keep cropping up:

Don’t hide information in the name of clarity
Don’t claim more than you offer
Keep user flows straightforward and don’t confuse them with extra steps
Don’t design difficult opt-outs like forcing users to take multiple steps to cancel an account

If your site was accused of using deceptive UX, how would you respond?

Find out exactly what's deceptive, thank users for the feedback, make changes, and notify users of the changes

— Wendy Bravo (@WendyBravo) March 11, 2016

Earning Trust

Designers only get about ten seconds — if that — to prove their worth. That means you don’t have much time to establish credibility and clearly communicate your value. A study from Stanford shows that, for web users at least, design visuals are the predominant factor that proves credibility. Combining the two studies shows just how important landing pages’ visuals are to establishing trust, as quickly as possible.

Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s hard to deny that Chase’s website fits the bill.

Their site has both visual appeal and is self-explanatory. They don’t rely on their name alone for credibility. The design isn’t groundbreaking, but you don’t need a completely original design to appear trustworthy. Users just seem to know that this company knows what it’s doing. It gives a sense of structure, which leads to a sense of safety.

A sans-serif typeface with open counters creates a feeling of comfort and hospitality.
Tasteful, modern icons look designed by professionals.
The login box sets expectations — and the process delivers.

The box gets priority by standing out from the photo behind it.
People expect to log in, and that’s what happens.
The signup link is clearly labeled as such.
No unusual information is required.


The brand’s consistent use of blue strikes calming emotional notes.

Designers can’t expect users to just trust them. Sites and apps must prove themselves through a series of interactions and elements, from icons that consistently represent what they’ll do to straightforward text to imagery that fits the site’s tone.

Even if designers create credible products that don’t appear trustworthy, few people will buy into them. And yet deceptive sites that don’t appear so will deliver angry users and a poor reputation — something every business or organization wants to avoid.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. You can learn more about good patterns in our free e-book, The Essential Elements of Successful UX Design.

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