Calm Design/Calm Technology
A kettle, an airplane lavatory lock, and a matchbox. What do all of these objects have in common? They are examples of calm design. It is all around us, it is the result of human ingenuity, and it's hardly noticeable, which is by design. When something is calm, it can be used in a passive manner and can remain in the periphery of one's attention, only making itself known when there is a natural call to action, or an interaction with the object that changes its functional status. The quintessential example of calm design is a stovetop kettle. Once it is filled, it sits quietly upon a burner until the water inside it has started boiling, at which point it starts to whistle loudly by virtue of the transformation of its state of matter, providing an audible queue to its user that the stove should be turned off and the kettle's contents can be poured into a mug to brew some delicious tea. The user can return to other tasks after setting it on the stove and will only be reminded of its presence once it has done its job. Some kettles are so simple that they do not have a wide opening, and water must be poured into them through the very spout it will come out of, thereby ensuring their whistle is secure and will sound once ready, and further adding to the humble kettle's calm design.
Another common example of calm design is the lock on an airplane bathroom door. The sliding motion of the lock that comes from inside the restroom simultaneously communicates in analog form to someone outside the door if it is vacant or occupied. Furthermore, some planes have a technology that can sense if the door is locked, and will illuminate a sign in the aisle to relay the same message, allowing a passenger to see if the restroom is free without even getting up, and avoid having to stand outside it. The information conveyed is visible to everyone, but does not stand out in a distracting way, blending in while being instantly accessible to someone searching for it.
An instance of a calmly designed object I have thought of myself is a matchbox. The box has two functions: storing matches, and acting as an ignition for them. In order to safely and effectively light a match, the box must be closed to avoid accidentally lighting the other matches, stabilize the striking surface, and keep the remaining matches from falling out of the box. The manner in which one performs the first three actions leading up to lighting a match - opening the box, taking one out, and closing it - does not impede on the final step of actually striking it, which requires the box to be closed anyway.
In modern times, calm design is also called calm technology when referring to software that can function in the same way as an analog calm design. In fact, the term "calm technology" came before "calm design", as the former was coined to describe information systems, and the latter was used retroactively to extend the concept to the physical world, although the word "technology" does not necessarily correspond to computers as popular use implies. There was not a term for this attribute in design until 1995, when computer scientists Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown were researching design while working for Xerox, and coined the term "calm technology". The pair described it by saying, "Calm technology engages both the center and the periphery of our attention, and in fact moves back and forth between the two."
A few more examples, just for shits and giggles:
The cap of a laundry detergent bottle: it acts as a necessary airtight protector following manufacture, a guard against spills or leaks when storing or transporting the liquid, and also conveniently acts as a measuring cup for detergent, living upside down on the jug and always available when doing laundry. This usage is naturally intuitive: one does not need to think twice about using the cap as a measuring and pouring tool. Consumers need not go out of their way to find a dedicated measuring cup for their detergent, and have a simple tool at their disposal every time they purchase more detergent or do laundry. Additionally, particularly well-designed caps have their screw mechanism on the outside of the cap, allowing excess liquid to drip back into the container without ever leaking outside of the cap or bottle, avoiding the tragedy of dried encrusted detergent. This multipurpose design of caps certainly goes for other bottled liquids, but is especially multi-pronged when observing laundry care products.
The camera indicator light on computers: the bezel of most modern computer monitors houses a webcam, microphone, and a small light that is invisible when not shining, residing behind the glass of the screen. When one is not using the camera, there is no outline of a light, and when the camera is in use, the user may want to confirm that it is truly on. If the camera is hacked, the light will presumably turn on, returning from its dormant invisible state and contextually informing the user that the camera is being used without authorization. Conversely, when someone has just finished using the camera, it is sometimes willed to observe the light turn off, to make sure they are no longer being watched. This tiny light goes beyond calm design - it is not just undistracting, it is invisible until triggered, and once visible, it is still in the periphery of one's attention. In older MacBook models that do not have glass bezels, dozens of lasers shine through tiny holes in the metal bezel, which is an incredible engineering feat and workaround in itself, considering light does not travel through metal otherwise. This doesn't actually have much to do with anything, I really just wanted to share the slightly ridiculous fact that product engineers signed a quarter million dollar exclusivity agreement for manufacturing the camera indicator light in Apple's laptops with a company that specializes in technology that allows for light to be transmitted through metal via lasers.
Alarm setting on smartphones: if a user has set an alarm to go off, an icon will appear in the status bar informing them to this fact. If one is about to go to bed and would like to check if an alarm was already set, they can check the corner of their screen before going into the clock app (not TikTok) to set their alarm. Furthermore, if someone is silencing their phone before an event, they can also double check for the alarm icon, since silencing one's phone does not disable alarms, and avoid disrupting something by accident. The icon is passive, blending into the background of the screen while simulataneouly being accessible at any given moment. This applies to other situations as well, like location data collection and battery status.
Clothespins (Is that how you spell that? It looks weird): a clothespin lives on the clothesline through its entire lifespan. When needed, it is within arm's reach on the same line that the clothes that they will hold in place will hang from. It can slide down the line easily, while staying in place when being used to secure garments. Clothespins do not need to be stored in a box, they can just stay hanging from the clothesline. They are available when needed, already in the exact location they will be used.
The placement of a washing machine in the bathroom, adding a third anecdote to the laundry examples (and the bathroom example): in Germany, and probably other countries, the norm for washer placement is the bathroom, which makes sense from the standpoint of routine. At the end of the day, one will undoubtedly use the bathroom before bed, whether to shower or just brush their teeth. While in the bathroom, one can also undress as they normally would and throw their day clothes right into the washer where they would have ended up sooner or later. The washer essentially also functions as a hamper, making itself useful in more than one way and staying as a passive and mostly unobtrusive fixture in the restroom, only moving itself to the forefront of one's mind once needed to wash clothes.
The divider on the conveyor belt at grocery stores: something unique about the divider is that it is ultimately used to signal a similar message to three different parties: the previous person in line, the next person in line, and the cashier. It is the first person's duty to grab the stick and divide their items from those of the person behind them, which also sometimes acts as a signal that the next person in line can start unloading their cart. Once the divider makes its way down the conveyor, the cashier will put it back, taking it as if it were another product, pushing it into a chain of a few others, and making the next one available. When the divider is needed, it is available for use, and when not needed, it will stay in place and go unnoticed, in line with the principles of calm design. It is not per se taking up space either. The conveyor belt needs to have a narrow open space on both sides in case an item goes slightly over its edge; the divider simply integrates itself in this space, and stays a friendly neighbor with the gum and candy next to it. Tumblr veterans will remember this post about them. (I'm not even a veteran, I've only been on this site for less than two years, although I've seen that specific post float around elsewhere on the internet.)
Finally, the double door lock system: in my home, the entry door has two locks that function slightly differently. The bottom lock can be turned from the inside while still allowing someone to exit and close the door, locking the door and only enabling entry back in with the key to the bottom lock. This is convenient when one is in a hurry, and would like to quickly lock the door and not fumble with the key when outside the door. The top lock is only lockable with a key when on the outside; it is impossible to lock the door inside and then exit, unlike with the bottom lock. This is reliable when one is home, but does not want to be locked out by mistake. For example, when getting home, both locks will be disabled since this was necessary to get in, but when one wants to secure the home again, only the top lock will be turned. To get out, the lock must be disabled, which is not the case for the bottom lock. The top lock is useful when exiting the house temporarily, to go on the porch for instance. When leaving for a longer time, both locks are secured for a safer two-step entry process. The top lock specifically is what constitutes the calm design of the system. When going on the porch or to the backyard, where the home is still being watched and is unlikely to be broken into, the person leaving is guaranteed not to accidentally lock themselves out, which would be the case if using the bottom lock. In order the leave, the lock must be undone, which comprises the intentional and passive design of the mechanism. (In the photo below, which I found online, the scheme appears to be reversed, but functions identically. I'm too lazy to take a photo of my own lock and deal with Tumblr's photo addition bullshit.)
Calm technology has become a significant touchpoint when it comes to designing new products whose creators are interested in differentiating them by way of making them simultaneously helpful and not too overbearing. Mui is a consumer product that has made its calm design a central tenet of its marketing. It can be described as a simplified smart home hub like an Am*zon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub, or Facebook Portal, but contained within a panel of wood that only shows information on a strip of embedded illuminated dots and buttons, a la mesmerizing scrolling LED board at the front of the bus. In a world where screens emit light that interferes with sleep, app icons are brightly colored to encourage clicking, and most of our waking hours are spent staring at pixels whether for work, entertainment, or communication, this product is a refreshing take on smart home technology that could act as a personal assistant that also does not bombard the user with loads of information and graphics. Most things either do not follow the principles of calm design, or they do, but they do not make this into a feature; mui is unique in its advertising of its own calm design as an asset.
While calm, intuitive design exists in many forms everywhere, equally unintuitive and less thoughtful technology also permeates our world and adds burden to our lives, however small. It is not worth expanding upon these examples, as there is no such things as uncalm design, just poor design. This being said, I would like to add onto the kettle example with a personal anecdote.
About a year ago, my parents bought a new, rather fancy electric kettle at Costco. The purchase was a whole ordeal; since we don't have a membership, we took a trip to the warehouse with people we know who do and spent $40 on the device, and have been served well by it since. The kettle has a glass build, a luxury compared to its plastic and metal predecessors. It even has different temperature settings for different types of tea that brew at different temperatures. However, a flaw I have experienced while using it is its "keep warm" feature. After boiling a pot of water, the kettle automatically enables its setting that keeps the water at its high temperature for an hour after initially heating it up. The problem in this design is the lack of intentionality in enabling this function. Immediately after putting the kettle back down on its base, the "keep warm" function turns on, even though in the majority of use cases the user was only heating water for immediate, one-time use. Often, the kettle will keep powering its heating element in vain, just for the sake of this feature. It will turn off once the user puts the kettle down and afterward presses the off button. The issue is the treatment of the setting as a default. The original kettle was calm by nature, but this futuristic model will often waste energy to heat water for an hour that will more often than not be sitting there for a while. Instead, the option to "keep warm" should be opt-in, meaning that by default the kettle should turn off, and only when entertaining guests, for example, when a warm beverage will be served multiple times in a given period, should the function be enabled by the intentional press of the power button. This is a small, if not nonexistent, issue; most people know how to operate the kettle efficiently, but its programming should be made more in line with calm design.
The intuitive design principles of calm technology should be implemented where possible, with the benefits of making life easier, reducing confusion, and allowing for more focus on things that matter more than becoming frustrated with an everyday object.
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