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What we can learn from the guy who regrets making pop-up ads
How a Designer’s innovation became a global annoyance (and what it means for the future of UX Design).
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Usability studies repeatedly show that users are completely frustrated with pop-up ads. Yet despite this, marketing and advertising teams continue to rely heavily on their use. People hate them, even if they like the offers displayed (who can say no to 20% off your first order?). They perform well if your measurement of success is marketing KPIs and not user sentiment.
Ethan Zuckerman shows us that if we aren’t careful, we can create something wildly successful for a business but a giant failure for the user.
As we move forward with designing in tech, inconvenient UIs, and artificial intelligence give us shared warnings and similar opportunities.
Ethan Zuckerman’s apology
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Back in 2014, Ethan Zuckerman, the creator of the pop-up ad, issued a public apology.
We ended up creating one of the most hated tools in the advertiser’s…