Good web design is meant to help people. It should make things clearer, easier, and faster. Dark patterns do the opposite. They are design choices deliberately created to nudge, pressure, or trick users into doing things they didn’t intend to do — often without realising it until it’s too late.
The term dark patterns was coined by UX designer Harry Brignull to describe user interface designs that manipulate behaviour rather than support it. Think less “user-friendly” and more “user… pliable.”
At first glance, dark patterns can look harmless. A checkbox here, a pop-up there. But taken together, they quietly erode trust and put business goals ahead of user consent.
Common Types of Dark Patterns
One of the most recognisable dark patterns is forced continuity. This happens when you sign up for a “free trial” and are quietly rolled into a paid subscription without a clear reminder or easy way to cancel. The free part was obvious; the ongoing cost, less so.
Another frequent offender is misdirection. This is when design draws your attention to one option while hiding another. The “Accept all cookies” button might be bold, colourful, and centre stage, while “Manage settings” is small, grey, and looks like it’s already tired of being clicked.
Hidden costs are also common. You might select a product at one price, only to discover additional fees appearing right at the final checkout step — after you’ve already invested time and effort. At that point, many users shrug and pay rather than start again.
Then there’s confirmshaming, where users are guilted into a choice through loaded language. For example, declining an email newsletter with a button that says, “No thanks, I hate saving money.” The goal isn’t clarity — it’s emotional manipulation.
Why Businesses Use Them
Dark patterns exist because, in the short term, they work. They can increase sign-ups, boost conversions, and reduce cancellations. When metrics are prioritised without ethical oversight, these tactics can feel like easy wins.
But those wins are fragile. Users notice. Trust erodes. Complaints increase. And in many countries, regulators are beginning to take a closer look at deceptive design practices, especially around privacy, subscriptions, and consent.
What looks clever today can become a liability tomorrow.
The Real Cost: Trust
The biggest damage caused by dark patterns isn’t financial — it’s relational. When users feel tricked, they don’t just abandon a product; they remember how it made them feel. And they share that experience.
In a world where alternatives are often only a click away, trust is a competitive advantage. Transparent design builds loyalty. Manipulative design burns bridges quietly, one frustrated user at a time.
Designing Without the Dark Side
Avoiding dark patterns doesn’t mean sacrificing business outcomes. It means aligning them with user intent. Clear choices, honest language, and genuinely easy opt-outs don’t reduce engagement — they improve the quality of it.
Good design asks, “Would a reasonable user understand this?”
Dark design asks, “Can we get away with this?”
The difference matters.
As users become more design-literate and regulators more alert, dark patterns are losing their cover. The future belongs to products that respect users, not outsmart them.
Because the best conversions are the ones people don’t regret the next morning.
Expert takes integrity seriously, especially when it comes to honesty in web design, and we’re pleased to advise that we don’t buy into this insidious trickery, nor do our clients.
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An episode of The Detail podcast from November 24, 2025, discussed "dark patterns," deceptive online designs used to manipulate consumers into spending more, highlighting issues like hidden fees, hard-to-cancel subscriptions, and urgency cues. The episode coincided with Consumer NZ raising concerns about these manipulative features, noting research indicates they lead to increased spending and difficulty cancelling services. Read the full story at RNZ.