Calm Technology® Workshop Report - AXIS Gallery Tokyo

Mar 30, 2026 - AXIS Gallery Event Report

Have you ever heard of "Calm Technology® (commonly known as Calm Tech)"? Amber Case, founder of the Calm Tech Institute, which advocates this concept, held a talk event at AXIS Gallery on March 4th. Let me briefly introduce this concept, which is now attracting attention from major technology companies around the world.

This report was translated and slightly modified from its Japanese original, posted here: https://muilab.com/ja/journal/67x1p26t1kg/ 

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How many people today can hold a smartphone and "do nothing" for several minutes? Modern digital devices are designed to deliberately capture users' attention, constantly send notifications, and make it difficult to put them down.

The "attention economy"—a business model that monetizes user attention itself as a resource—has long been the standard in Silicon Valley. But now, the backlash is approaching a critical point. Criticism of the "dark patterns" that encourage addiction has led to discussions about regulation, and calls for a new relationship with technology are beginning to rise from within the industry itself.

The keyword that vividly captures the mood of this era is "Calm Tech." This movement, which even major tech companies like Google and Samsung can no longer ignore, has now spread to what extent? Case, the proponent of the term, explains:

Amber Case is the founder of the Calm Tech Institute and a cyborg anthropologist. She is a thinker who studies the relationship between humans and technology from an anthropological and design perspective. After conducting research at MIT, Harvard University, and other institutions, she systematized and developed Calm Technology®, a concept proposed by Mark Weiser, the "father of the Internet of Things."

She published the book Calm Technology in 2015 (a Japanese version, "Calm Technology – Designing Information Technology that Blends into Everyday Life," was published by BNN in 2020). In 2024, she established the Calm Tech Institute and launched "Calm Tech Certified™," a third-party certification system for products and spaces. In 2025, she opened a Japanese office in Kyoto.

"There's a rapidly growing interest among companies trying to create tools and environments that help people think more deeply and better. We've received inquiries from aircraft manufacturers, university design teams, software and laptop manufacturers, and even Japanese automakers. This week, we've also started offering a new area called 'Calm Tech for Spaces,' focused on environments like offices and hotels. This is because we've come to understand that not only the equipment itself, but also the technology that permeates a space—for example, CO₂ concentration management and lighting quality—significantly influences people's thinking and their sense of calm."

Calm Tech is a design philosophy that Amber Case systematized and developed from a concept proposed by Mark Weiser of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1995. Its core idea is simple: "Technology should not steal human attention, but rather blend gently into life to create a sense of calm."

The philosophy of Calm Technology® is organized into eight design principles, with pillars such as "requiring only the minimum necessary care," "maintaining basic functionality even in the event of failure," and "utilizing familiar social conventions."

Because the term had such a powerful ring to it, at one point various companies misused it, and some companies began to call products that were not so "calm" as "Calm Tech." In response, Case established the Calm Tech Institute at the end of 2024 to prevent the original intent from being diluted and launched the "Calm Tech Certified™" certification system, which has an 81 point evaluation criteria for calm.

Here are some examples of products that have received Calm Tech certification. Currently, the only product from Japan to receive the award is the mui Board from Kyoto-based mui Lab, but several other Japanese products are expected to be announced soon.

The six categories evaluated by this certification system are attention, peripheral vision, durability, light, sound, and materials. Doesn't reading this give you a sense of déjà vu? That's because Calm Tech's guidelines seem to draw a lot of inspiration from traditional Japanese culture. Case says that her encounter with classical tools and everyday objects during a visit to Kyoto at the end of 2024 directly led to a deepening of her philosophy.

"Wabi-sabi," "ma" (space/interval), "omotenashi" (hospitality)—the aesthetic sensibilities and design philosophies that Japan has cultivated over a long period of time resonate in many ways with the principles that Calm Tech upholds. So, how does Japanese product design appear in the eyes of its proponents? Amber Case explains:

"I believe that Japanese design is already far more carefully and thoughtfully considered than much Western design in terms of details, buttons, textures, and harmony. I myself grew up surrounded by Japanese design—Sony cameras, Walkmans, Yamaha receivers, Nintendo Game Boys, origami, and washi paper lamps... Kyoto is a special place where deep history and modernity coexist. I feel that the way of design that comes from listening to nature and observing it carefully is still alive and well in Japan."

The meticulous attention to detail that Japanese in-house designers have taken for granted has, until now, been considered "too subtle to be easily understood overseas." Coupled with a cultural modesty that discourages assertiveness, its value has not been adequately articulated even within Japan. However, by acquiring the universally understood term "Calm Tech," it may finally be possible to communicate it globally.

One company that has already paved the way is Kyoto-based mui Lab. They have obtained Calm Tech certification for their natural wood interface, "mui board," and are gaining international recognition. For Japanese consumer electronics and information equipment manufacturers, this certification could be a powerful tool for transforming their cultural assets into global competitiveness.

Where is the Calm Tech Institute headed in 2026? The answer, according to Case, lies in stark contrast to the Silicon Valley pace.

"We are not a venture capital-backed startup. It takes a long time for a certification body to grow properly. We don't plant trees and then cut them down three years later to build a house. What we want to cultivate are trees that grow big enough to be climbed over many years, providing an ecosystem for many species. We hope to end the era of flat, buttonless, monotonous screens and bring good design back into our hands."

In early March 2026, Case returned to Japan with an event hosted at AXIS Gallery and co-organized by the AXIS design magazine and the Calm Tech Institute. The event included lectures, exhibitions of certified products, and a workshop to verify the Calm Tech level of potential products. Participants were able to see how Japanese products, created with the spirit of "omotenashi" (Japanese hospitality), are already at the forefront of Calm Tech.

On March 4, 2026, the "Calm Tech Practice for Product/UX" event was held at the AXIS Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo. Amber Case, who promotes the concept of "Calm Technology®," information technology that blends seamlessly into daily life, was as a speaker, and journalist Nobuyuki Hayashi served as the facilitator. mui Lab, which has been practicing "Calm Technology" in Japan, was also given the valuable opportunity to speak at the event. A sold-out event saw more than 50 designers and company representatives in attendance, marking a significant step in fostering momentum for this concept. 

What is Calm Technology? 

The design philosophy, originally proposed by Mark Weiser of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1995, was systematized and further developed by Amber Case. Its core idea is simple: "Technology should not steal human attention, but rather blend gently into life to create a sense of calm." 

A "gentle" design rooted in Japanese craftsmanship

In today's "attention economy," where advancements in information technology and digital devices have led to a situation where human attention is consumed as a resource, "calm technology" is beginning to attract significant attention from leading companies worldwide as its counterpart. 

At the event, renowned journalist Mr. Nobuyuki Hayashi began by mentioning the commonalities between Calm Technology and Japanese aesthetics. In fact, Calm Technology has many aspects that resonate with traditional Japanese culture and aesthetics, such as "wabi-sabi," "ma" (space/interval), "omotenashi" (hospitality), and "tatasumai" (presence/atmosphere). Case herself said that she grew up surrounded by Japanese products such as Sony and Nintendo, and was greatly influenced by their deeply thoughtful designs. 

On the other hand, the meticulous attention to detail that has been taken for granted in Japan has not been adequately articulated until now. With the emergence of the globally recognized term "Calm Technology," it now has the potential to be communicated globally for the first time. Case expressed her hopes for the widespread adoption of Calm Technology as a new design standard that Japanese companies should take the lead in. 

Lectures and discussions on putting calm technology into practice

Case's presentation began with a sharing of the basic concepts and theories behind Calm Technology. 

In recent years, as attention to Calm Technology has grown, Case established the Calm Tech Institute at the end of 2024 to prevent its original intent from being diluted. She launched the Calm Tech Certified® certification program. Based on six categories—attention, peripheral vision, durability, light, sound, and materials—the program has 81 evaluation criteria from various perspectives aimed at reducing user burden. 

According to Amber Case, Calm Technology essentially functions as a pass-through for humans to do things. The idea is that technology itself is not the goal, but rather a means to an end, a tool that "blends into life" for people to do things and think. A clear example she gave was a banana peel. When it ripens, it changes color, and you can easily tell what's inside without peeling it. 

Such human-centered design can also lead to brand loyalty for companies. For example, a smoke detector sold by a prominent US company was criticized for frequent false alarms and the difficulty in easily disabling the alarm sound. The company redesigned the smoke detector using human-centered design, adding a button that could be pressed with a long stick or broom in case of a false alarm, and as a result, its market share expanded significantly. 

In the second half of the session, a workshop was held among the participants. The aim was to help them apply the content of the lecture to their own products and work, and to put it into practice. 

In addition to a workshop where participants identified evaluation points for products that actually have CalmTech certification and were exhibited at the venue that day, there was also an exchange of ideas on the theme of "How can we design a calming hotel room?" Meaningful dialogues were born among participants with diverse backgrounds, with opinions such as "Making the approach from the entrance to the room deliberately long may help to calm the psychological state of the guests." 

With a view to transforming spaces into calming technologies, Japan will lead the world.

Building on the energy from the workshop, the event concluded with a talk session by mui Lab, the practitioners themselves, to deliver a message of encouragement to the industry domestically.

mui Lab has been pursuing a way of technology that is close to people, drawing inspiration from everyday actions—for example, the noren (traditional Japanese curtain) that subtly announces the opening of a shop, or the custom of marking a child's height on a pillar. The affinity between this approach and Calm Technology led to the connection with Amber Case.

Based on this design philosophy, the "mui board 2nd generation" became the first in Japan to receive "Calm Tech Certified®" certification. In 2024, the Japanese branch of the Calm Tech Institute, Calm Tech Institute Kyoto, was established at mui Lab's Kyoto headquarters. 

In recent years, it has become clear that the state of a space, including the air and lighting, affects people's well-being. Now, the scope of this is expanding beyond individual products to include the entire space, and mui Lab is actively pursuing an approach that encompasses "life" itself, including the entire space. 

Journalist Mr. Nobuyuki Hayashi, the initiator of this project, commented on the event:

"In the early 21st century, Silicon Valley companies greedily and unconsciously stole people's screen time and attention, leading them towards a dystopia. In response to this, there has been a recent acceleration of movements to restrict children's social media use. However, even without societal pressure, more and more people are weary of the noise and seeking a new relationship with technology. The digital detox trend that has spread in recent years, the rise of audio media such as podcasts, and the resurgence of analog media like records can all be seen as manifestations of this changing mood. Calm Tech is a product design technology that systematizes and guides the form of technology these people desire from the perspective of cognitive science, and I believe it will be an important guideline for future digital manufacturing."

While there is still a gap to be made in the widespread adoption of calm technology, this event can be considered a significant step towards increasing awareness within Japan. What is needed now is a cultural perspective and a sincere approach to manufacturing from Japanese companies. Please look forward to the future expansion of calm technology and Japanese companies that have the potential to influence the world.

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Calm Tech Practices for Product/UX | Amber Case's Visit to Japan Event, occurred on Wednesday, March 4, 2026 19:00~21:00 JST at AXIS Gallery, 4th Floor, 5-17-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo https://peatix.com/event/4864973/view

Although some slight edits have been made for readability and translation into English, this report was originally published by mui lab, Inc. at https://muilab.com/en/journal/67x1p26t1kg/

For more information on this event's significance, please see the "AXIS Web" article:

https://www.axismag.jp/posts/2026/02/701503.html