Design Transparency

1. Colors and Their Influence

I use a dark color scheme with shades of gray and a teal accent. Here's how they might shape your perception:

• Dark Gray (#121212, #1e1e1e, #2a2a2a) : These tones feel serious and professional, fitting for InfoSec. They might make you see the site as competent but could feel a bit cold.
• Light Gray Text (#e0e0e0, #777) : High contrast ensures readability and clarity. It aims to be neutral but might seem less emotionally engaging.
• Teal Accent (#00bcd4) : Used for links and hover effects, teal suggests trust and tech-savviness. It encourages clicks but subtly guides your focus.

Note: Colors vary across cultures. I chose tones that feel professional globally, but your perception might differ. Try toggling Dark/Light Mode in your browser to feel the difference!

2. Typography and Familiarity

I use 'Segoe UI', a clean, sans-serif font, for its modern look and readability. It's familiar from tech products like Windows, which might make you feel the site is reliable. This familiarity works through the Mere Exposure Effect – repeated exposure to Segoe UI across Microsoft products creates positive associations. But this familiarity could also make you less critical of the content, as your brain processes familiar things as "safe" and trustworthy.

3. Language and Tone

My direct tone ("No trackers. No bullshit.") aims to signal honesty and stand out from glossy sites. The homepage disclaimer is part of this – it's meant to wake you up but might make you trust me more through reverse psychology. Phrases like "Let's keep the internet open, secure, and private" inspire shared values but could make you see the site as morally superior, reducing scrutiny.

This is also framing in action: Saying "No trackers" might make you assume the site is 100% data-free, but GitHub Pages and Cloudflare collect server logs (see Privacy Policy). The way I frame this information influences your perception.

4. Layout and Behavior

• Centered Content (800px): Focuses your attention and feels clean, but it might hide that some aspects (e.g., GitHub's logs) are outside my control. This creates a framing effect where the controlled presentation makes everything seem equally under my control.
• Dropdown Menu: Makes navigation easy but directs you to specific pages (e.g., "Projects"). This is subtle choice architecture – I'm influencing which pages you're likely to visit.
• Open-Source Content: Free tools or code might make you feel inclined to engage (e.g., star the repo) through the reciprocity principle, even if I don't explicitly ask for it.

5. The Halo Effect and Authority Bias

The clean, minimalist design might trigger the Halo Effect – if the site looks professional, you might unconsciously assume all content is equally trustworthy and well-researched. Combined with Authority Bias, my InfoSec background could make you less likely to question my statements, even in areas where I'm not an expert.

Watch for this: Does the site's appearance make you more likely to trust technical claims? Do you find yourself assuming I'm right about non-InfoSec topics too?

6. Priming Through Structure

The very structure of this page primes you in subtle ways:

• Numbered sections create an illusion of completeness and systematic thinking
• Starting with colors primes you to notice visual elements more
• Technical terms like "priming" and "cognitive bias" might make you feel you're learning something scientific, increasing trust
• Bullet points make information feel more digestible and authoritative

7. The Meta-Problem: Transparency as Priming

By explaining these effects, including the homepage disclaimer, I aim to be open – but this page itself could make you trust the site more than you otherwise would. This transparency might trigger:

• Moral licensing: "He told me about manipulation, so he must be honest"
• Reciprocity: "He's being so transparent, I should trust him"
• Contrast effect: "Most sites hide this stuff, so this one must be better"

It's not a trick; it's just how communication works. I encourage you to question everything, including this page. Notice if reading about these effects makes you feel more or less trusting.

8. Commitment to Fairness

I avoid manipulative tactics like urgent CTAs ("Act now!"), ads, or trackers. My goal is to share InfoSec and OSINT knowledge without compromising your autonomy. But remember: even "fair" design choices influence behavior. The absence of dark patterns doesn't mean the absence of influence.

If you spot influences I missed, cognitive biases in action, or want to discuss the ethics of transparent manipulation, open an issue on GitHub or start a discussion!

9. An Experiment in Radical Honesty

This page is also an experiment: Can radical transparency about influence create more informed users? Or does it just create a more sophisticated form of persuasion? I don't know the answer, but I think it's worth trying.

Your turn: After reading this, do you trust the site more or less? Are you more aware of how other sites influence you? That's the real test of whether this transparency works.