I study how design knowledge, ethics, and human-computer interaction practice shape the technologies people encounter every day.
I am best known for research on dark patterns and manipulative design. My broader work examines design methods and ethical practice, UX competence, and HCI and design education—often translating research into legal, regulatory, and public-interest contexts.
Areas of Research
My work examines how design knowledge is built, how ethical consequences emerge through designed systems, and how designers learn to act with judgment in complex settings.
Design Theory and Methods
I study how design knowledge is structured, created, and utilized, with a focus on a theory of method.
- Toward an Architectural Model of Design Methods (DRS 2026)
- Languaging Design Methods (Design Studies 2022)
- Designing in Context (Designing 2025)
Design Ethics and Dark Patterns
I investigate coercive, manipulative, and deceptive design across interfaces and experiences, connecting design evidence to organizational incentives, law, regulation, and broader socio-technical harms.
- The Dark Patterns Knowledge Stack (CHI 2026)
- Getting Trapped in Amazon’s “Iliad Flow” (CHI 2025)
- An Ontology of Dark Patterns Knowledge (CHI 2024)
HCI and Design Education
I investigate how students develop design judgment and professional competence, share guidance on structuring studio learning experiences, and consider how HCI programs can prepare students to work across disciplinary and cultural boundaries.
- Wrangling and Supporting Uncertainty in HCI Education (EduCHI 2026)
- Themes, Lenses, and Materials (EduCHI 2024)
- Studio Properties (2025)
Selected books
Studio Properties
Jones, Brown, Boling, Corazzo, Gray, & Lotz
A field guide to the material, social, cultural, and institutional conditions that shape design education and studio pedagogy.
Universal Methods of Ethical Design
Chivukula & Gray
A practical reference to principles, methods, theories, and frameworks that support ethical awareness, reflection, and action.
Where is Colin? · Fall 2026
This semester includes research and legal work, teaching HCI/d Studio I (INFO-I 541), invited talks and workshops, and continued collaboration with partners in the United Kingdom.
- September 15: Talk for the Canada Competition Bureau—“Beyond the Screenshot: Identifying Dark Patterns Across User Journeys.”
- October 6–9: UNT Design Month in Texas—student workshops, a lecture on ethics and social responsibility, and engagement with the design community.
- November 6–14: Newcastle upon Tyne—planning the final year of the IRES research program and the annual UK study-abroad program.
Prospective students
I am not currently accepting new PhD students. I remain open to conversations about undergraduate research and independent studies when there is a strong fit with current work.
Talks, collaboration & consulting
For speaking invitations, research collaboration, legal consulting, or other inquiries, email comgray@iu.edu.