Dark Patterns

01 Apr Dark Patterns

How Deceptive is the Webpage You’re Viewing?

Deception on the internet is definitely something to be aware of because nowadays, sitting face-to-face with a person to complete a business transaction is a bit difficult from the other side of the world. It is sometimes difficult to ensure the accuracy of information or interaction between user and designer, merchant and buyer, etc. This is when User experience (UX), User interface (UI) and Information Architecture (IA) become very important. Each of these specific categories of web design and development allow us as designers and developer to give our users the best experience they can possible have when interacting with the technology we created.

UX, or user experience is an area specifically dedicated to how a user interacts with my website, app, or whatever technology I have created. My initial understanding of this was simply, can a person click and buy, or is all of the information on my site visible and readable? I never considered other user experience value points. Some of the areas I had never considered were things such as, does every link of the website work properly and is the user able to identify which links they have already clicked on. This becomes important because as a user is trying to minimize the time it takes for them to complete a task, they will need a smooth UX on my site. It’s helpful to know what links have been viewed by way of them changing color after being clicked because it will save time. According to Wikipedia, the “User experience design (UXD, UED or XD) is the process of enhancing the user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users.” This is true of any and all products on the market.

Secondly, UI or User Interface, is the means by which the user and a computer system interact, in particular the use of input devices and software. There are more mobile devices in use in the world than there are people, which let us know that technology is not only on the rise, but necessary in everyday life. Therefore, the way we design must be consistent across all mediums because regardless of the information being viewed and regardless of what medium is being used to view it, the user should enjoy the same interaction. As a designer I had never considered this point and after learning about flex vs flow, I understand that there is a way to design that allows me to keep my design professional and consistent. I found this to be interesting because as I designed this week and worked on the www.ragzonly.com site, I found that I was able to design the home page exactly how I needed it to be, but when navigated to on a mobile device, my countdown clock spanned vertically down the page and required more than 6 full-length scrolls to view the entire title and the padding attribute was the cause of the issue. Learning to program in all modes (desktop, mobile, tablet, etc.) is important.

Labeling a site and all of it’s content to ensure proper Information Architecture (IA)

Information Architecture is said to be half design and half brains. This is an important element in the entire task of web development because it is “the half-art-half-science process of deciding how the content of a digital project will be organized and labeled. Great IA comes from having a profound understanding of the project itself and its intended audience. An IA designer is tasked with organizing and labeling all of the content in a way that a customer can locate and access it easily (Sisi R., 2019).” Have you ever been to a website looking for a particular “thing” and you cannot understand why it is so hard to find? It may not be that the “thing” is not there. It may simply be that the “thing” is not properly labeled, or the button is not obvious enough for you to know that it is a button. There are several things that could go wrong. Overall, this was surprising to me because I never imagined there to be so many tedious tasks assigned to a team to ensure the complete functionality of the site.

In reviewing sites this week, we used the Heuristic approach! This was by far an interesting experience because there were over 60 categories we judged a site on. These categories spanned the likes of button size and functionality to if all of the links redirected to the proper location. We also evaluated the text color and size, use of white-space or lack thereof, and we even looked at elements as small as the number of steps it takes to complete a featured task starting at the home page. If nothing else grabbed my mind, this did because it allowed me the inside scoop on how my websites should truly be designed and coded. Being given the blueprint means I should not have very many errors when I design and for that I am appreciative. I would suggest that every person looking to work in web design and development complete a Heuristic evaluation of their favorite site as well as 2 that are comparable in the same category. This will allow the person to gain a full understanding of the components that go into building a fully functional and professional website. Overall, I need to work on allotting more time to the task at home. Often times, I find myself underestimating the time it is going to take to complete a task because I imagine that I am already a master programmer with all of the necessary knowledge. Maybe I have too much confidence in myself at the moment. However, I am totally aware that this is a profession that requires special attention to detail which is sometimes hard when I am moving fast, so I have tasked myself with the mission of slowing down, allotting more time for my necessary tasks and watching more tutorials in the available time I have outside of my professional learning environment (“Codetalk”). Learning to make these small adjustments will help me to give a better user experience to my viewers and it will make me a better professional.

source:
1.https://modicum.agency/blog/ia-ui-and-ux-the-anatomy-of-awesome-digital-products