ISKM15 Final thesis
Writing this thesis was a quiet kind of irony. I was studying how interfaces wear people down and push them into automatic, low-effort decisions, and the writing process kept doing the same thing to me. Some weeks I avoided the document. Other weeks I rewrote the same paragraph five times without knowing if it got better. I learned that academic writing is also emotional work.
The Think-Aloud sessions changed me as a researcher. Five real respondents, each navigating the cancellation flows of OnePlay and Adobe in their own way. Watching someone slow down, hesitate, and quietly search for an exit that the interface had deliberately hidden was uncomfortable in a way that reading about dark patterns never is. It made clear that these patterns are not interesting design curiosities. They are small, everyday harms. The frictionless sign-up I documented in the prescreening, set next to the deliberately obstructed exit, stopped being a research finding and started feeling like a quiet form of disrespect for the user.
I am also aware of the limits. Five respondents cannot speak for everyone. The mobile apps were only examined through expert analysis, not user testing. With more time, I would have done more. But I am leaving the process with something I did not have at the start: a clearer sense of the researcher I want to be. Someone who pays attention, respects the people behind the data, and refuses to see interfaces as neutral surfaces.
ISKM107 Client, designer & reality
I didn't what this seminar will be about because it had no description. The class was split into two intensive full-day sessions. On the first day, we listened to an inspiring presentation about what it's actually like to work in a design studio, and we even got to see real-life studio projects. The second day was completely hands-on. We went to the Jiří Mahen Library, where we walked through the space using assigned personas to map out the navigation, find user pain points, and think of ways to improve the experience. While it was a great practical exercise, I felt the course could have pushed even further into the “reality” of client management, for example like how to pitch ideas, handle difficult feedback, and confidently convince a client that you know what you're doing. Also, since many of us are part-time students balancing jobs, it would have been a huge help if there was an option to join these long sessions online.