Encores are meant to feel like a surprise gift to the audience. 

In practice, they’re predictable and performative - a delightful gesture that could’ve been designed into the experience from the start.

Digital billboards were meant to modernize roadside advertising — dynamic, eye-catching, efficient. But on a highway where every second counts, this attention-economy sideshow becomes a safety hazard. We’ve turned critical glanceability into animated spectacle, where the user is doing 75 mph and the interface updates every six seconds.

The “Close Door” button in an elevator appears to offer control. It suggests immediacy, agency, and responsiveness to the user’s needs. In reality, it’s often a placebo — disconnected from functionality, or programmed to ignore us entirely. What should be a tactile shortcut is UX theater.