How to Make Privacy Policies both GDPR-Compliant and Usable by Karen Renaud and Lynsay Shephered

A 2018 piece describes some new strategies, using usability-oriented design, to present privacy policies in better ways. Its basic design pattern is a summary table, with icons and some call-out boxes  (along with a trust seal) to present the policy in a brief overview with a link to a fuller policy. It is important for … Read moreHow to Make Privacy Policies both GDPR-Compliant and Usable by Karen Renaud and Lynsay Shephered

Tunnel Bear: privacy policy with visuals, diagrams, and examples 

The website Tunnel Bear recommends to its users that it hasA Privacy Policy You Can Actually Understand. It is a VPN tool, that allows for mobile, private connections to the internet. Its privacy policy has many design features meant to improve accessibility: accent images to illustrate or diagram the data privacy large headings tables laying … Read moreTunnel Bear: privacy policy with visuals, diagrams, and examples 

YouTube’s terms of service through a jargon-free video explainer

In true YouTube style, a YouTube user has made a straightforward, image-rich explainer video of what the legal document says. It was made by Emily Murphy for a course, and provides a rich set of scenarios and examples along with a rundown of the key clauses.

Music video airline disclosure, safety dance on Virgin

This was Virgin Airline’s mandated disclosure, as done as a music video, that I saw on a recent flight to LA. And Behind the Scenes of the video: — From a write-up of the video on marketing blog Digital Synopsis: When was the last time you paid attention to a pre-flight safety demonstration? In the … Read moreMusic video airline disclosure, safety dance on Virgin

Privacyville: Privacy Policy as game for Zynga

Zynga has a game-based privacy policy, PrivacyVille, in which each of the practices is located on a different part of their game town image. You have to click each part of the game to get the different practices. Then, at the end, they give you the chance to play a quiz to confirm you understood.

Aza Raskin’s privacy redesign project

The designer Aza Raskin tackled the design of privacy notifications & policies several years ago. His blog details his (and his co-designers’ and experts’) process to try to make more readable & targeted disclosures that would be meaningful to people. 1.) Making Privacy Policies Not Suck Privacy policies are long legalese documents that obfuscate meaning. … Read moreAza Raskin’s privacy redesign project

Codepen’s Privacy Policy

Codepen has a new privacy policy model, in which it lays out all the terms in a two-column table. On the left hand side is the legalese, and then on the right is the plain English. It’s still all text, but uses hierarchy (categories with bold headers), clean composition (tables with clear demarcations & lots … Read moreCodepen’s Privacy Policy

Privicons project

The Background of the Privicons Project gives a wonderfully resourced summary of their privacy design project. The Project’s Development Recently there have been numerous approaches for simplifying privacy policies by the use of icons. Similar to the Creative Commons project for managing content licenses, some scholars and technologists have suggested privacy policies could be enhanced … Read morePrivicons project

Legal Design Jam takes on Twitter’s privacy policy @ KU Leuven: Report |

LDJ on privacy @ KU Leuven: Report Posted on November 27, 2014 by Stefania Passera In this Jam we brought together designers and legal researchers interested in privacy to reimagine together how privacy policies can be redesigned to be more user-friendly, transparent – and to be actually read by internet users! In our Jam, we … Read moreLegal Design Jam takes on Twitter’s privacy policy @ KU Leuven: Report |

A Redesigned Parking Sign So Simple That You’ll Never Get Towed

Here is a piece on notice design, A Redesigned Parking Sign So Simple That You’ll Never Get Towed | from Wired Magazine. It’s by Liz Stinson, from 07.15.14 Your car gets towed, and who do you blame? Yourself? God no, you blame that impossibly confusing parking sign. It’s a fair accusation, really. Of all the questionable … Read moreA Redesigned Parking Sign So Simple That You’ll Never Get Towed

Language Rights are Civil Rights infographic posters

Another great project from CUP, the Center for Urban Pedagogy, this time on language rights: The Project Description: If you don’t speak English in NYC and you’re trying to access government services, NYC and NY State’s innovative language access laws guarantee you the right to the assistance of an interpreter. But many immigrant communities aren’t … Read moreLanguage Rights are Civil Rights infographic posters

Housing Court navigator

Another amazing infographic guide for a non-expert to navigate Housing Law, from the CUP team. Their project description: Your faucet is leaking, there’s mold in the bathroom, and your landlord is trying to evict you! You head to court to sort things out. But navigating the maze of NYC’s housing courts can be overwhelming, and … Read moreHousing Court navigator

Housing Court Help

From CUP’s amazing design/public service operations: Their project: Housing Court Help Many tenants in NYC’s hectic housing courts don’t know that they have the right to ask for realistic terms for themselves when they’re negotiating with their landlord, or how to get help understanding the agreements they sign. CUP collaborated with Housing Court Answers and designers … Read moreHousing Court Help

ITunes TOS Redesign

via Rethinking the design of the ‘terms of service’ agreement – SmartPlanet. Rethinking the design of the ‘terms of service’ agreement By Andrew Nusca Design student Gregg Bernstein looks at the terms of service agreement for Apple’s iTunes in an attempt to renovate a nearly illegible document. Every few months, a user experience-minded student comes … Read moreITunes TOS Redesign

Tax Form self-assessment designs

Here is a short article about tax forms — that includes discussion of how not only forms can be laid out better, but how legal & financial terminology can be presented for users rather than for experts. via Self-assessment: not so taxing after all. from the Simplification Centre UK’s Blog: Self-assessment: not so taxing after … Read moreTax Form self-assessment designs

7,500 Online Shoppers Unknowingly Sold Their Souls

A computer game retailer revealed that it legally owns the souls of thousands of online shoppers, thanks to a clause in the terms and conditions agreed to by online shoppers. The retailer, British firm GameStation, added the “immortal soul clause” to the contract signed before making any online purchases earlier this month. It states that … Read more7,500 Online Shoppers Unknowingly Sold Their Souls