UX Dark Design Pattern — Misdirection

Today I’m going to cover the Dark Design Pattern, Misdirection. Misdirection is when the design purposefully focuses your attention on one thing in order to distract your attention from another.

Misdirection is the sneakiest type of dark pattern because it exists in a grey area. Here is an example of how it’s being used.

When you look at this screen you will notice a red button CTA designed to get users to upgrade. A must less conspicuous grey button must be selected to say ‘no thanks’ and continue checking in. Annoying, right?

Why are they doing this? Delta is trying to force you to focus on one thing just to distract you from another. It’s a cheap trick, which only takes away from the user's experience.

As designers, it’s our responsibility to ensure we are not utilizing dark patterns in our work. Good design — and good business — is all about empathy for the users. To understand the true impact of your designs, you have to work at a human level. You have to get into their shoes and understand how they want to be treated, and what they expect when using your product