The “Dark Horse” Customer
LAST UPDATED: December 25, 2025 at 10:59AM
GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato
Organizations often say they are customer-centric, yet their design decisions quietly optimize for convenience, averages, and assumptions. The result is a polished experience that works well until reality intervenes.
Human-centered design reaches its full power when teams stop designing for the mythical “average” user and start learning from the edges. The Dark Horse customer — underestimated, inconvenient, or misunderstood — holds the key to building experiences that scale under real-world conditions.
“When a system works for people under stress, constraint, or uncertainty, it doesn’t just survive the real world — it earns trust in it.”
Why Extremes Predict the Future
Extreme users are not anomalies; they are early signals. Aging populations, increasing cognitive load, language diversity, and economic pressure all push more people toward what was once considered the edge.
Designing for extremes today is how organizations stay relevant tomorrow.
The Hidden Cost of Designing for the Average
Average-based design creates fragile systems. When stress increases — time pressure, emotional intensity, technical failure — these systems collapse.
Dark Horse customers experience these breakdowns first, but never last.
A Practical Framework for Designing at the Edges
1. Seek Out Struggle
Do not recruit only confident or successful users. Study frustration, confusion, and improvisation.
2. Design for Recovery
Extreme users make mistakes under pressure. Systems that allow easy recovery benefit everyone.
3. Reduce Cognitive Load
Clarity is the ultimate inclusive design strategy. If the experience works for someone overwhelmed, it will work for anyone.
Case Study 1: Healthcare Appointment Systems
A healthcare provider redesigned appointment scheduling after observing patients managing chronic illness and limited digital skills.
By reducing steps, clarifying language, and confirming understanding, the system improved no-show rates and satisfaction across the entire patient population.
Case Study 2: E-Commerce Under Time Pressure
An e-commerce company studied last-minute shoppers during high-stress periods. These users abandoned carts due to unclear delivery expectations and complex checkout flows.
Simplifying choices and emphasizing reassurance increased conversion rates not only during peak times, but year-round.
Designing for Dignity
At its core, designing for the Dark Horse customer is about dignity. It acknowledges that people are human, not idealized users with unlimited time, focus, or confidence.
This mindset shift transforms inclusion from a compliance exercise into a competitive advantage.
The Middle Benefits the Most
When organizations design for extremes, the middle experiences ease, clarity, and confidence without realizing why.
That invisibility is the mark of great design.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Are Dark Horse customers rare?
No. Most people become extreme users under certain conditions.
Is this the same as inclusive design?
Inclusive design is a result; designing for extremes is a method.
Where should teams start?
Start where customers struggle the most.
Extra Extra: Because innovation is all about change, Braden Kelley’s human-centered change methodology and tools are the best way to plan and execute the changes necessary to support your innovation and transformation efforts — all while literally getting everyone all on the same page for change. Find out more about the methodology and tools, including the book Charting Change by following the link. Be sure and download the TEN FREE TOOLS while you’re here.
Image credits: Unsplash
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