Dark patterns are almost as menacing as they sound — they are design choices that aim to deliberately mislead a consumer. The term was first put forth by Harry Brignull, a UX designer who had noticed an increasing tendency by (some) website designers to use colour, font, shape, and size as a way of convincing consumers to make decisions that are not in their best interests.

To understand how dark patterns work, we first need to know a little bit about UX design. UX stands for user experience and UX designers are primarily concerned with the way in which a user interacts with their product — be it a website or a coffee machine.

A website that provides a seamless user experience may seem simplistic. In reality, an inordinate amount of research and work has gone into building a digital experience that feels inherently intuitive. A web design company in Melbourne can be expected to conduct market research, customer analysis, prototyping, wireframing, testing, and analysis before they are certain that the finished website is both user-friendly and engaging.

Unfortunately, not all UX designers use their powers for good. Just as a designer can develop a product that helps you accomplish your end goal — for example, visiting a website to pay a bill — they can also implement design elements that are designed to deliberately lead consumers to make bad decisions.

These ‘bad decisions’ are unlikely to have devastating consequences. Perhaps you will accidentally sign up to a newsletter, or try to cancel a subscription but find the process too confusing. Dark design patterns are not evil — they are just inconvenient.

You’ve certainly come across dark design patterns before, even if it hasn’t been apparent at the time. Dark patterns are everywhere; Harry Brignull, the man who defined the term, has even put together a website that aims to classify and document each of the different forms.

Some of the most prevalent types of dark design patterns include:

We fill out online forms everyday, to the point where we often don’t fully read what each question is asking. UX designers know this and will try and trick you into making a decision not in your best interest.

For example, we have come to expect the option of ticking a box to ‘opt out’ of newsletter subscription services after filling out a form. A dark design pattern might trick you by asking you to tick a box to ‘opt in’ to their newsletter, expecting that users will simply scan the text and automatically make a decision based on muscle memory.

This type of dark pattern is fairly self-explanatory; designers aim to force your attention elsewhere so that you make poor decisions.

For example, you might be playing a game on your phone and have run out of lives. A pop-up appears, letting you know that you can purchase additional lives for $4.99. A big red button says ‘BUY NOW’ in flashing text. The only way you can remove the pop-up from your screen is by clicking a little cross in the top right-hand corner; unfortunately, that cross is virtually the same colour as the background so you can’t see it. You end up buying the additional lives for two reasons; you want to keep playing and you think it is the only option available to you. This is misdirection.

Hidden costs tend to be added right at the very end of a payment process. For example, you might be ordering food online. You know there will be a delivery fee, but just as you’re about to enter your credit card details, you’re told that there will be an additional small charge for ‘processing and handling’. This may only be a few dollars and you’ve got the food already in your cart, so you agree to the fee.

While you might not think twice about this hidden cost, they can net businesses millions of dollars a year in extra profit.

Confirmation shaming is one of the original and most overt forms of dark web design. Consumers have largely caught onto this trend, and so it is not as prevalent as it once was, but you may still be able to find examples of it on very old websites.

You might be shopping for clothes online and a pop-up appears offering free delivery for a year if you sign up to the website’s exclusive members club. The pop-up gives you the option to say no, but it is worded in such a way that shames you for opting out — for example, ‘No thanks, I don’t want to take advantage of this amazing offer’.

Web designers are very powerful people, with the ability to influence consumers into taking actions that are either good for them or not in their best interests. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to give your customers the resources and knowledge to make decisions themselves. If you’re building a new website using a web design company in Melbourne, ensure they are following ethical practices and are not swayed by the powers of dark web design.