Thank you Alfonso!
This task certainly was a “frustration” as Bagaar intends! Like most people, I find bad UI pretty taxing under normal circumstances. What I found interesting was some of the intentionally frustrating or confusing design elements are common in many form/survey fields I come across. For example confusing password requirements, selecting and deselecting boxes from exhaustive lists, formatting errors, and lacking an auto-advance to the next field or tab function capability are common in messy UI. There were definitely spots where I really struggled to figure out how to move forward, the whole game took about 12 minutes to complete which seems like an excessive amount of time. Beyond simply messy/bad design I noticed that the GUI was also designed to divert my attention to “bad” elements that were confusing or misleading. The flashing numbers and countdown pop-ups added a sense of urgency and panic, these types of techniques are typically used to trick users into clicking malicious elements. When considering the changing spaces of text technology, understanding and navigating digital graphic interfaces is a new literacy that leaves certain populations more vulnerable to manipulation or fraud. When I then consider the learnings from Tufecki and Harris, GUI is used to capture attention and data that can then be sold to not only affect our consumer spending but also our political leanings and voting behaviour. This exercise demonstrated really clearly how easily companies can exert emotional control and manipulate online behaviour through interface design and human psychology.
Harris, T. (2017). How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day.
Tufekci, Z. (2017). We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads.
Kudos to you for completing the game in 12 minutes, Megan!