The Wheel of Dark Patterns
Starting the conversation
The wheel of Dark Patterns is an interactive game created by Industrial Product Design and Embedded System Engineering students which can be used on social events. In this game the users combine examples of dark patterns with the correct term, which is then combined with the overarching theme. With the help of nfc tags the computer knows when there’s a match, which then communicates with the screen. LEDs are implemented to draw attention to the product and help indicate when the correct match is made. By making players actively think about these patterns, they will become more aware of hidden dark patterns in daily technology and be more mindful of their usage. Dark patterns are sneaky design tricks in apps and websites, crafted to manipulate you into spending money or sharing personal info without realizing it.
Above all, the content of the wheel is replaceable, so this product can be used to spark conversations about other topics.
With this project we really started from scratch and just the goal of the project: Make an interactive object that can spark conversations about the digital world and it's possible dangers. After I led an brainstorm session with the group we really got started and ended up creating this prototype. This was quite a passive group of people, so I learned to take the lead in this project. We had quite some challenges along the way, but in the end we were able to put together a almost fully functional prototype. This was my first time working together with people from a different study, and we had to adapt to each other's working styles. However, we found common ground and built on those similarities.
In collaboration with: Munise Yasar | Niek Goossens | Ozgur Uzun | Jovy Lee
Client: Digitale alertheid & HAN
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