Saturday, June 20, 2026 · 9:41 AM
ok dumb question, what’s the deal with now you know too much?
Dark patterns are not a different kind of design. They are persuasive technology pointed the wrong way. Once you know how defaults, friction, and urgency shape behavior, you also become responsible for how…
so the villain is... my brain trying to be helpful?
pretty much
your brain hates blank space, so it fills it with the nearest sample: you
His 2003 book ends with a question that still lands:
that feels rude but accurate
think of it like designing a hotel room while standing in your own bedroom. everything feels obvious because you know where your socks are
wait so the fix is just ‘ask users’?
annoyingly, no
asking helps, but the chapter is warning you about the gap between what feels true and what survives contact
In 2018, GDPR came into force across Europe. Websites needed real consent before collecting personal data. The law was specific: consent had to be informed, given…
ok that’s the part people skip
yep. this knowledge was never neutral is the trap door
then it shows up as what the industry shipped
In 2018, GDPR came into force across Europe.
so what do i actually do differently on monday
make the hidden assumption visible before the review starts
then test the behavior, not just whether the room nods
and if a choice only works for informed, patient, caffeinated people, treat that as a bug
that’s the series tbh
design psychology is mostly noticing the human nonsense before it ships
ok send me the next one after i recover
Read Sat, Jun 20 · 10:03 AM