Dark patterns and predatory interfaces are not inevitable. They are designed, which means they can be designed differently.
This cluster maps the philosophical and methodological tools for doing exactly that. These are not utopian ideals — they are working frameworks used by designers who have decided that user interest matters.
The question this cluster asks: what would you build if you were not optimising for attention?
Terms in this cluster
VSD (Value Sensitive Design)
Systematically integrating human values into the design process from the start — not as an afterthought.
Calm Technology
Weiser and Brown, 1995. Technology that informs without demanding. The background, not the foreground.
Fair Patterns
The direct counterpart to dark patterns. Same structural logic, opposite intent. Design that works for the user.
Design that makes manipulation visible. The interface that shows you what it is doing.
De-bugging
Removing errors — as a metaphor for critical thinking about technology. Finding the flaw in the system.
Unblackboxing
Making hidden mechanisms visible. The practice of opening what was designed to stay closed.