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10 Principles for Ethical UX Designs
Using honest UX design to create reputable and trustworthy experiences.
With the rise of dark patterns in UX, it’s never been more essential that the products we design are honest and reliable.
“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful.”
— Edward R. Murrow
Dark UX is when designers create an experience that nudges users in a direction that benefits the interests of the company rather than the user.
Instead of deceiving users with dark patterns, we can build credibility through ethical experiences that put the user’s interests first, even at the expense of short term gain.
Joshua Porter writes in Honest Interfaces, “when part of our product is confusing, misleading, or suspicious, the users’ trust will begin to erode. When even the slightest hint of bad behavior sneaks in, the user has already begun to withdraw from further interaction.”
1. Notify Me
It’s far too common for companies to rely on users registering for a free trial and then forgetting about it, causing them to pay for a subscription.
We should keep our users informed and allow them to cancel their subscription after a free trial if it’s no longer of use to them.
Or better yet, if you’re offering a free trial don’t ask for a credit card at all.
Inform your users every time they are about to be charged.
2. Highlight negative information
Instead of leaving it up to the user to be informed on the possible negative aspects of a decision they’re about to make, it should be crystal clear.
