Exploding the Fine Print: Designing Visual, Interactive, Consumer-Centric Contracts and Disclosures

In this chapter, we present new models for the presentation of contracting terms and interactions, based on user research and designDesign work into consumer contractsConsumer contracts . As more contracts become machine-readableMachine-readable , there is an open question of how people will actually interact with these computable contractsComputable contracts , so that they can effectively, efficiently, and meaningfully use them. At Stanford Legal Design LabStanford Legal Design Lab we went through several human-centered designDesign cycles to generate new contract designs, gather qualitative feedback about them, and then propose guiding insights and new conceptual models for better consumer-facing legal communications. This initial study led to key principles, models, and patterns that demonstrate how consumer contractsConsumer contracts can be more comprehensible, engaging, and effective. Following on this qualitative designDesign research, we then conducted more structured, qualitative evaluations of the new contract interface models that we had designed. We did a comparative study of how usersUsers engaged with and used different interface models to determine which ones were most effective. Effectiveness is judged on several criteria: the ability to engage the attention and actions of the user, the ability to help the user comprehend the content that it is communicating, and the ability to help the user make a decision that fits with his or her own preferences and needs. This study can serve all those interested in improving disclosures, terms of service, privacy policiesPrivacy policies , and various other forms of businessBusiness -to-consumer contractsConsumer contracts . It provides empirical research on new models for communicating complex terms and conditionsTerms and conditions to lay people. It bridges the literature of contract designDesign for improved usability and outcomes, behavioral economicsBehavioral economics ’ concern for choiceChoice engines and decision making, legal scholarship on the effectiveness of disclosure as a regulatory mechanism, and HCI research on how best to engage usersUsers and help them navigate systems.