View source for Principles of Calm Technology

===Principles of Calm Technology===
Developed by Amber Case

I. 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.

II. 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.

III. 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.

IV. 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.

V. 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.

VI. 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?

VII. 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.

VIII. 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.

From [https://calmtech.com/ calmtech.com] accessed 2025 Jan 13.