Design Based On Transparency
Lack of information leads to distrust, uncertainty, and lazy user interaction.
Before discussing the need for transparent design, it is important to delineate what obscure design consists of. Although not noticeable at first, obscure designs are present in many popular mobile and web applications used today. This type of design exploits imperfect information to deliberately trick the user into partaking of a certain action or unintentionally leaves out crucial information to “simplify” the user interface.
Obscure Design: Airbnb
An example of obscure design is present in how applications deal with necessary terms and agreement user acknowledgements. Here’s a screenshot from Airbnb’s approach to notifying users about changes in their terms and agreements:
Through this design, users have to go through an extra step (clicking the individual tabs) to read the updated terms of service, payments terms of service, and privacy policy.
Not only does this demotivate users from reading the updated policies, but it also undermines the importance of such documents.
Furthermore, the Agree button is already highlighted as the suggested option while the links to policy documents are only slightly highlighted with a faint shade of green. Whether Airbnb deliberately chose to adopt this design for mere simplicity or intentional inconvenience is unknown. Regardless, the suggested user interaction is the same: skip reading Airbnb’s updated policies even if they might contain important information.
I know what you are thinking. Who reads those anyway? Although I speak mostly for myself, I believe most users ignore reading terms and agreement documents not because they are uninterested, but rather because the design is not approachable. Most services are like Airbnb and suggest users to skip this step. On top of that, policy documents usually consist of long text files or pages that are mostly filled with irrelevant details to the user.
But what if the important changes were selected from the document and displayed to the user in an informative and user-friendly manner? Here’s where the concept of design based on transparency comes in.
Transparent Design: Google Firebase
Although not an exact counterpart to the Airbnb example explained above, Google Firebase provides an example of a design focused on fully informing and warning the user about deleting a Firebase project.
Through this design, Google not only highlights the main consequences of deleting a Firebase project, but also enforces a system where the user has to check through all the boxes to confirm deleting a project. Although some might argue that design that enforces an action is undesirable, there are scenarios in which the application holds the responsibility of making sure the user is informed.
So what is design based on transparency?
Transparent design is the process of bringing important and accurate information up to the surface of the user interface and informing the user not only about the consequences of their actions, but also the intentions of the company in question.
Google’s design on the deletion process of a Firebase project can easily be adapted and implemented into improving Airbnb’s terms and agreements screen shown earlier. Highlighting and listing specific changes to policy documents and having the user go through and agree to each one before they proceed, although adding inconvenience, is necessary to provide full transparency and create trust with the user. The new design might look something like this:
Please note that although the information displayed in the image above was taken from Airbnb’s Terms of Services, it does not relate to the updated policy documents and was simply used for design purposes.
Transparent Design: Apple’s Screen Time
Another example of design based on transparency is Apple’s Screen Time functionality on iOS devices. For those who are not familiar, Apple’s Screen Time helps users understand how an iOS device is being used to aid users in making time-management and app-regulating decisions.
By providing users with concrete data on how they are using their devices, Screen Time fully informs the user so they can set limits to addicting applications and in general simply be aware of how much time they are spending on their devices. This type of transparent design has the power to provide credibility and trust with the user — the right way of attracting reoccurring users. From a business perspective, although Apple’s Screen Time could potentially reduce iOS device usage, it slowly formulates a trustworthy brand image that could potentially attract even more users in the long run.
Obscure design may lure users in the short-run by intentionally leaving out information or enforcing a user interaction that might be beneficial for the company, but not necessarily for the user. Yes, a user might click a button with imperfect knowledge and end up signing up for a service, but that does not build a long-term trust relationship that is beneficial for both parties. In fact, some designs based on obscurity touch on and exploit dark design patterns to intentionally fool users temporarily. On the other hand, transparent design not only embeds users in a safe and positive environment, but also attracts loyal users in a healthy and trustworthy manner. Through this relationship, a business can grow, expand, and rely on its users to improve their products while users can trust businesses in prioritizing user security and comfort.
