Developed by Amber Case

1. Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention

   • Technology can communicate, but doesn't need to speak.
   • Create ambient awareness through different senses.
   • Communicate information without taking the user out of their environment or task.

2. Technology should inform and create calm

   • A person's primary task should not be computing, but being human.
   • Give people what they need to solve their problem, and nothing more.

3. Technology should make use of the periphery

   • A calm technology will move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the center, and back.
   • The periphery is informing without overburdening.

4. Technology should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity

   • Design for people first.
   • Machines shouldn't act like humans.
   • Humans shouldn't act like machines.
   • Amplify the best part of each.

5. Technology can communicate, but doesn't need to speak

   • Does your product need to rely on voice, or can it use a different communication method?
   • Consider how your technology communicates status.

6. Technology should work even when it fails

   • Think about what happens if your technology fails.
   • Does it default to a usable state or does it break down completely?

7. The right amount of technology is the minimum needed to solve the problem

   • What is the minimum amount of technology needed to solve the problem?
   • Slim the feature set down so that the product does what it needs to do and no more.

8. Technology should respect social norms

   • Technology takes time to introduce to humanity.
   • What social norms exist that your technology might violate or cause stress on?
   • Slowly introduce features so that people have time to get accustomed to the product.
   • Leverage familiar behaviors to introduce new ones.

Products and patterns that embody calm technology principles.

Ambient Alert

Tea Kettle

If a technology works well, we can ignore it most of the time. A teapot tells us when it is ready, and is off or quiet the rest of the time. A tea kettle can be set and forgotten, until it sings.

Peripheral Display

Inner Office Window

An inner office window provides an understanding of whether someone is busy or not without the need to interrupt them.

Binary Indicator

Lavatory Sign

This simple display easily allows one to see whether the restroom on a plane is occupied or not. The message is universal and requires no translation.

Status Tone

Roomba Vacuum Cleaner

Roomba doesn't have a spoken language, just simple tones. This tone-based language makes it easy for anyone to understand what Roomba is saying.

Roomba chirps happily when a task is finished. When Roomba gets stuck, the device emits a somber tone. Orange and green status lights help communicate status in an unambiguous way.

Haptic + Trend

Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle monitors your sleep and wakes you up at the best place in your sleep cycle. Because the haptic alert occurs under your pillow, you can wake up without anyone else being affected.

Zero-UI

Smart Badge

Smart badges are small, wearable technologies that don't require a charger, user interface or operating system. Simply touch one to a door or elevator panel for access.

Wayfinding

Floor Navigation System with Icons

Floor navigation, when done well, can quietly show people where to go in unfamiliar spaces. Using Bauhaus iconography alongside text helps with quick mental parsing of directions.

Products communicate through many channels. The choice of channel determines how much attention a message demands.

Haptic Alert

Touch has a high resolution of human sensation. Information can be conveyed with no visual or auditory requirement.

Trend Graph

A good trend graph makes the formerly invisible visible, compressing long-term data into an accessible format.

Status Light

A light that shows the weather is far more calm than a weather system that constantly calls attention to itself.

Status Tone

A status tone is a quick way for a device to let a person know whether it needs attention or not.

Status Shout

Status Shouts should be reserved for very important information. Smoke alarms, tea kettles and ambulances all use them.

Popup

Popup alerts are the most common form of alert, but they can quickly overwhelm people when not used correctly.

Timed Trigger

A simple status light on a timer can make for a calm and informative notifier.

Delay

Use a delay or interrupt during a change of state. When headphones disconnect, the music player automatically pauses.

Amber Case at FutureSpaces, May 2024.