Attention Capture Pattern

A design element on a website intentionally crafted to draw users' attention toward content that serves the site's interests rather than the user's goals. Examples include bright promotional banners, flash sale notifications, pop-up offers, and visually prominent recommendation sections. Attention capture patterns can be considered a form of dark pattern when they deliberately divert users from their intended tasks. For screen reader users, these elements add irrelevant content that must be navigated through, while for sighted users they create visual distractions that increase cognitive load.