Deceptive Design

I conducted an audit of the FTC versus Amazon case paper as part of my analysis of deceptive design patterns on Amazon's platform. Through this audit, I systematically annotated the document to identify instances where deceptive design practices are being used.This deepened my understanding of the issues at hand and enabled me to identify key pain points to address. Using this information, I broke down Amazon’s web and mobile flows to pinpoint specific areas for development, allowing for a targeted approach to address deceptive design practices.

Research

Key Pain Points

Amazon's checkout flow lacks clarity and honesty. The use of deceptive practices and an absolute lack of transparency in the language throughout the process suggest that Amazon prioritises trapping consumers over creating a user-friendly platform.

Analysing E-Commerce competitors: I conducted a comprehensive competitor analysis to uncover industry best practices and potential areas of differentiation among e-commerce competitors. I gained valuable insights into the various approaches taken by competitors identifying common trends and patterns, as well as unique features and strategies.

Further analysis of subscription-based services: In addition to e-commerce competitors, I analysed subscription-based services like Netflix, Spotify, and Apple Music. This investigation aimed to understand their effective design and marketing strategies for promoting subscriptions.

    • The clarity of pricing information
    • The transparency of subscription terms
    •Techniques to encourage users to subscribe to subscription services

This exploration provided me a basis of how competitors addressed the users experience alongside deploying marketing techniques to encourage users to signup to subscription-based services. These insights provided valuable inspiration for me to begin creating innovative design solutions to Amazons deceptive approach.

To deepen my understanding of how each segment of the flow relates to the user experience, including emotional responses, I crafted a customer journey map. This map broke down user interactions at each stage, highlighting emotional responses, pain points, and moments of delight. It also unveiled user needs and expectations, critical touch points, and opportunities for improvement. By analysing user behaviour patterns and their implications for design decisions, the journey map provided valuable insights that guided targeted enhancements and a more user-centric design.

Additionally, the user journey map aided in pinpointing specific pain points within different sections of the user flow. This facilitated the rearrangement of elements during the minimisation of the customer journey, ultimately boosting the efficiency of the checkout process.

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