Creativity Talks Podcast: aesthetics and persuasive design
Earlier this year, I recorded a podcast with University of Melbourne Creativity and Wellbeing Research Initiative about my research on artists’ responses to persuasive design. Examples of persuasive design include infinite scroll—information feeds that produce endlessly refreshed content keeping a user on device, and dark patterns—interfaces designed to confuse users into making a purchase.
The interview explores my emerging ideas about why creativity might be reparative as interfaces are increasingly designed to modulate user behaviour. This includes exploring connections between aesthetics and desire and acknowledging that marketing and design have long been used to encourage consumption. I speak briefly about Joana Moll and Katriona Beales, artists who use creative approaches to invite new ways of understanding the role that interface aesthetics plays in shaping online behaviour.