Workshops are experiential, participatory courses exploring topics in information in which students work in groups.
Workshops are 6-week, 0.25 credits elective courses that are normally taught twice in a term (INF1005H as the first offering and INF1006H as the second offering). Students cannot complete the same topic of INF1005H or INF1006H twice; they must take different topics for each course. Students may enroll in INF1005H and INF1006H in any term they are offered (that is, students can complete INF1005H and INF1006H in the same term or may take them in different terms). Students may complete both INF1005H and INF1006H to get 0.5 credits (equivalent of one 12-week course) or take one workshop (either INF1005H or INF1006H) and count the 0.25 credit as an EXTra to their total degree credits requirements.
Course Description
Critical perspectives on user experience (UX) have gained interest from design communities in the recent years. In this workshop, students will critically explore the phenomena of Dark UX and Dark Patterns, in which user experiences are often designed to advance shareholder value (e.g., profitability of design, clickbait, customer retention) as opposed to user value. When creating dark patterns, designers use their knowledge of human abilities and limitations as well as widely recognized design principles to engineer deceptive functionalities and experiences that are not in the best interests of users. These manipulative design techniques often trick users into unknown or inappropriate behaviours, raising questions related to the ethical and value-centered aspects of UX design. This workshop will provide opportunities for students to recognize, critically analyze, and design deceptive patterns, assess their effects users, and explain their impacts on the psychology of digital addiction.