Brightening the path for understanding certain consumer related dark patterns

It’s been a long time since the saying “the customer is always right” gained popularity in the relationship between traders and consumers. However, in the realm of digital commerce, the balance of power seems to be in traders’ hands, users becoming sometimes vulnerable to deceptive practices that go beyond persuasion and engage in subtle manipulation.

While many design strategies are aimed to improve ease of use and customer satisfaction, some resort to tactics known as “dark patterns” to coerce users into making decisions they might otherwise avoid. These practices have raised widespread concern among regulators, consumer advocates and the public, calling for greater transparency and ethical standards in digital design.

This article focuses on presenting some of the most commonly used dark patterns, namely the ones related to urgency, social proof and interface interference, while also underlying specific cases where such practices can be considered legitimate.

The full article can be read here.