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 calmtech.com accessed 2025 Jan 13.