What companies can learn from past products we love — an alternative gift guide for retro tech From left to right: Sony Handycam, Gameboy Color Pikachu Edition and the Canon PowerShot…
A wainscoting panel from the 1830s, block-printed artwork. Public domain image from the Smithsonian Design Museum Have you ever visited an old hotel or office building and were surprised…
The Problem With iPad-only Controls in Hotel Rooms — And How to Get It Right In Hospitality aloft hotel interfaces Picture yourself checking into a hotel during a work trip.…
When Swiping Supplants Scissors: The Hidden Cost of Touchscreens — and how Designers Can Help The history of technology is full of innovators who got their start creating with their hands.…
A history of wearables at Augmented World Expo 2013 Tech companies have been trying to make VR/AR/XR headsets go mainstream for over three decades. Here’s what I’ve discovered in…
The Invisible Light That’s Harming Our Health — And How We Can Light Things Better I recently spent a few weeks running a conference for a community of researchers and writers…
Every engineer studies failure. Shouldn’t LLM integrators do the same? It’s now been exactly 70 years since the term “artificial intelligence” was coined. AI first joined the technical vocabulary…
I recently (and finally!) got to talk at length with author Cory Doctorow, who famously coined the perfect term for when technology platforms and products rapidly decline in…
Here’s Why We Think It’s Amazing I’m incredibly excited to award Calm Tech certification to reMarkable Paper Pro, an innovative paper tablet with a color display. I recently completed the…
With the launch of Calm Tech Certified™ and the holiday shopping season here, I’m excited to share this directory of great products and devices that prioritize customer well-being.…
I’m excited to announce that the Calm Tech Institute (CTI) just announced the launch of Calm Tech Certified™, a certification program designed to help companies create products that…
Centaur Solutions For Customer Support: Amplifying AI Efficiency with Human Empathy When customer service systems are poorly planned, people can get trapped in automation loops. This results in experie…
Our “Smart” Devices Still Have a Blue Light Problem — But There Are Solutions Many appliances often glow bright blue at night. I recently spent the night at a friend’s house.…
Double Apple Pie — Case + MJ Apple’s recently-announced but belated embrace of AI is being called “boring” by some fans of ChatGPT. My perspective is somewhat different — because AI helped me…
I’m very excited to announce the launch of the Calm Tech Institute, a new design organization creating standards for technology which respect our time, attention, and humanity. Our…
Meet me at CES 2024! I’m helping launch the latest product from mui Lab, an award-winning creator of home devices based on Calm Technology principles. I’ve been advising…
Monsieur Hulot encounters a massive office culture in Jacques Tatit’s 1967 film Playtime Amber Case is author of Calm Technology and a Research Director at the Metagovernance Project. A…
Three ways of reacting to stimulus. Image by Michael Zargham x mj5. Have you ever read a post online that made you extremely upset, then found yourself resorting to…
In the 70’s cult classic Silent Running, the hero captains a starship with massive greenhouses. Fan art by u/No7er of Reddit’s /StarshipPorn When we think about calm technology…
Punting on the Cam: A punter sharing Cambridge history with a couple under the Bridge of Sighs on the Cambridge University campus. I just spent a summer studying…
Sometimes we need to tell our devices what to do. Illustration by the author. If you’re lucky, you awake in the morning to an overeager puppy who bounds onto…
Inside the Very Human Origin of the Term “Artificial Intelligence” — And Its Seven Decade Boom/Bust Cycle With so much growing interest and fear around AI, it may be helpful…
Windows are the ultimate pass-through technologies. The best example of a technology interface is one you rarely notice — even if it’s powerfully enhancing your reading experience of these words…