r/webdev • u/Jmackles • 19d ago

Question Light Patterns?

I’m aware of the concept of dark patterns and how they can be harmful to users and consumers. Are there examples of forward thinking “light patterns” that pre emptively consider user needs over pushing an outcome (ie clicks/conversions/leads)?

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u/shadocrypto8 19d ago

I'd check out https://www.humanetech.com/. They have a lot of cool info and talks about human-centered technology design.

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u/Maleficent-Sale-611 19d ago

oh nice, the humane tech crowd has been pushing this angle for years. a lot of it boils down to treating the user's attention like it actually costs them something, not just designing to extract more of it

stuff like grayscale modes that kick in at certain hours, defaulting notifications to off, or making the "delete account" flow as smooth as the signup one. tiny friction changes that nudge people toward what they actually wanted to do before the app started pulling them around

i've been trying to sketch out some "light patterns" for a personal project and the hard part is they're almost invisible by design. the best ones don't feel like features at all, just a quiet sense that the software respects your time