We have all been there haven’t we? The meeting where the client asks you to subscribe users to their newsletter without their permission. Or when they insist on adding an overlay to the homepage promoting their latest offer. In fact these kinds of requests have become so common that they have their own name — dark patterns.
As web designers these kinds of requests seem so alien. The idea of user centric design lies at the heart of everything we do. How could anybody suggest things that undermine the user experience?
Yet despite our best attempts the client insists on these changes. They seem oblivious to our cry of, “Will nobody think of the user?!”
