CTI Research Library
Welcome to the CTI Research Library! This is an ever evolving collection of articles, papers and other resources helpful for learning about Calm Technology™. ​
Selected Articles
2025-03-Mar
"One of the reasons why modern architecture and spaces can be anxiety-producing is the lack of fractals in modern architecture and spaces.
There’s just as much information in a forest as in a city, but one of them calms us and the other stresses us – the difference is in how the information is communicated. In this, we can learn much from the texture, color and the other materials of nature."
2025-04-Mar
"Nicer-sounding beeps require more expensive speaker hardware.
Microwaves and other appliances can save costs (and space) by choosing tiny speakers, and these speakers are really good at producing high pitched beeps – the kind in the same range that a baby cries – easy to get a person’s attention, but a horrible experience to listen to."
2025-19-Feb
"Originally, blue LED light was originally the most expensive light LED light to produce — high energy equals more cost per small LED – but it’s still pervasive in tech.
Perhaps its very cost made it seem fancy and premium." Read More >>
Papers
1995-01-April
Weiser's Principles of Inventing Socially Dangerous Technology:
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1. Build it as safe as you can, and build into it all the safeguards to personal values that you can imagine.
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2. Tell the world at large that you are doing something dangerous. Read More >>
1993-07-Nov
Eyeglasses are a good tool -- you look at the world, not the eyeglasses. The blind man tapping the cane feels the street, not the cane. Of course, tools are not invisible in themselves, but as part of a context of use. With enough practice we can make many apparently difficult things disappear: my fingers know vi editing commands that my conscious mind has long forgotten. But good tools enhance invisibility. Read More >>
Lectures
2025 May
Amber Case, founder of the Calm Tech Institute, argues that modern technology is leading to a “loss of dimensionality” in our environments. Our tools, she says, are becoming flat and textureless, yet they’re demanding more of our attention than ever. So Case suggests designers should not only focus on how technology looks, but also on how it feels. To preserve precious tangible, textured experiences, and to allow the tools we use to fit more naturally into our daily lives. Watch our talk to discover what “calm technology” is all about.
Case Studies
Q2 2026
Effects of Calm Tech Certified™ in advertising CTR and ROAS. Forthcoming.
Calm Tech Certified™ Explainers
CT1 Attention
Q2 2026
A document that goes into the research behind CT1 Attention.
CT2 Periphery
Q2 2026
A document that goes into the research behind CT2 Periphery.
Calm Tech for Spaces
Q3 2026
A document that goes into the research behind Calm Tech for Spaces.