Anti-Hero Card Deck

“It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero…”

Now is the moment to illuminate ethical dimensions of your design work

As designers, our responsibility extends beyond mere aesthetics and business goals; it encompasses shaping a world that aligns with our ethical compass and user-centered approaches. We envision these cards to be used in settings of design practice and education.

Embrace a fresh perspective on ethical design with the Anti-Hero card deck. As you navigate the difficult conflicts between manipulative tendencies and value-centered roles, allow the Anti-Hero card deck to be a catalyst to incite meaningful design conversations. Dive deep into discussions about the implications of design choices, considering not only their immediate impact but also their broader consequences for society and the environment. By embracing the Anti-Hero card deck, you open the door to a more comprehensive understanding of the ethical dimensions of your work, paving the way for design solutions that are not only visually appealing and commercially successful but also ethically sound and socially responsible.

Reimagine your design dialogue with the Anti-Heroes

Download your Anti-Hero deck today and bring it to your next brainstorm or team meeting. Use the cards as a catalyst for stimulating discussions about the ethical implications inherent in design decisions. Explore questions of scale, usage, equity, and access as you delve into the ethical dimensions of your work. The goal of the role cards is not for a designer to choose a particular Anti-Hero or Hero, but rather for them to engage with these roles using the Action Cards to better understand their own values and motivations that shape ultimate design outcomes.

Discover dual perspectives with the Heroes

The Hero roles act as value-centered counterparts to each Anti-Hero role, deliberately creating a tension between the Hero and Anti-Hero perspectives. Flipping the Anti-Hero side of each card reveals the Hero card, which serves as a contrast or corresponding counterpart. Together, these dual-sided cards form a unified entity, amplifying the ethical contrast and opposing approaches in designer’s intentions and value trade-offs.

Empower your team with Action Cards

Complement your ethical exploration with Action Cards designed to spark critical thinking and foster constructive dialogue in design action. From evaluation techniques to reverse brainstorming and ethical dialogue, these Action Cards act as a supplement to address ethical considerations through reflective practice at every stage of the design process.

Assessing a digital artifact for iteration and user-values, by asking:
How much are we shutting down user’s choice? {As an Anti-Hero}
How much are we valuing user’s agency? {As a Hero}
Having a conversation related to ethical and manipulative intentions or outcomes, by asking:
What values are inscribed in this solution? What have we still not talked about? {As an Anti-Hero}
How much are we not giving considering ethical considerations? {As a Hero}
Generating ideas that are contrary to the desired outcome, by asking:
How can we create the worst user experience? {As an Anti-Hero}
How can we iterate for user values? {As a Hero}

Miro Activities for you!

Supporting your Ethical Action through carefully designed activities

We have designed Miro templates with five activities to activate Anti-Hero Card deck in various stages of your design process. Be it a product manager trying to strategize their product impacts, be it a UX designer evaluating their designs, be it a team of stakeholders mapping the red flags in their design development, or be it a team of UX designers ideating new value-centered concepts, we have activities for you!

Designers of Miro activities: Sai Shruthi Chivukula, Shikha Mehta, Aayushi Bharadwaj

Try the Activities

List and prioritize a balance between user and business trade-offs.
While framing or beginning your design projects, Trade-offs Proactive allows a range of stakeholders map and forecast trade-offs that negatively impact user needs while helping business objectives and vice versa. Through this activity, different stakeholders can assess user goals and business objectives simultaneously. As an outcome of this activity, you will have two lists of trade-offs: those to constantly address and those to address at a later stage.
Generate and analyze contradictory user flows for the same scenario.
During the ideation stage, designers engage in simulating both Anti-Hero and Hero Flows to explore ethical and manipulative user flows parallely. This activity enables you to uncover ethical compromises through the Anti-hero flow and prioritize user needs through the Hero flow. By drawing the two flows with these contrasting perspectives, you can gain a balanced understanding of the values, motivations, and potential consequences through your designs.
Analyze a user flow from a different value perspective.
In the prototype stage, the Value Switcheroo activity helps designers identify manipulative elements using Anti-Hero cards and reframe them into value-focused alternatives. This approach shifts designers' thinking more towards ethical and user-centered solutions, ensuring that design decisions prioritize user well-being. By switching this perspective, you can recreate an intentionally value-focused user flow, concept or idea.
Anticipate ethical pitfalls in design and draft mitigation strategies.
During the stage of building a prototype or artefact, RAISING THE RED FLAGS allows stakeholders to identify "red flags" that might manifest through their design. Through this activity stakeholders can anticipate future ethical pitfalls and draft mitigation strategies to prevent them on design and functional levels.
Analyze design issues and iterate solutions based on user needs.
In the evaluation stage, designers take on Being an Ethical Investigator, analyzing their design through both Anti-Hero and Hero lenses. This activity helps uncover design issues and identifies opportunities to enhance user agency and trust. By taking this role, you can list a range of design issues and requirements for iterating your designs or design goals.