Dark Patterns in Site Design

Kerstin Bongard-Blanchy is a Research Associate at the University of Luxembourg. She joins us to discuss her study that investigated dark patterns in web designs. She discussed the results, the effect of dark patterns effect on users, whether an average user can detect them, and the way forward to a more ethical web space.

Guest

Kerstin Bongard-Blanchy: Since graduating from engineering, Kerstin has been going back and forth between the academic and industrial worlds. She holds a Master's degree in Industrial Design from TU Dresden (Germany) and a PhD in Product Design and Innovation from Arts & Métiers ParisTech (France). Preceding and following her PhD, Kerstin worked as a User Experience Designer and Researcher in various companies and cultures, namely Panasonic in Japan, Dassault Systèmes in France, and PXY4 - a start-up on Reunion island. In these jobs, she designed interfaces for home appliances, mobile phones, and software applications. Kerstin recently returned to academia and is currently a researcher associate in the Human-Computer-Interaction group at the University of Luxembourg. Her research revolves around user experiences in the digital world, yet the topic she is most passionate about is manipulative interface designs.