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Designing Calm Technology

Amber Case
Your instructor
Amber Case

Workshop includes:

  • Snacks and drinks
  • Tea and Coffee
  • Lunch
  • Paper and pen/pencil

This workshop has been cancelled.

Full-day workshop • Monday, June 24
The difference between an annoying technology and one that is helpful is how it engages our attention. Calm Technology is a framework for designing ubiquitous devices that engage our attention in an appropriate manner. The aim of Calm Technology is to provide principles that follow the human lifestyle and environment in mind, allowing technology to amplify humanness instead of taking it away.

This workshop will cover how to use principles of Calm Technology to design the next generation of connected devices. We’ll look at notification styles, compressing information into other senses, and designing for the least amount of cognitive overhead.

Structure and activities

Students will work in groups to solve a series of design challenges, including designing new products, ‘calming down’ a complex ones, communicating the principles of Calm Technology across an organization and team, and entering a product successfully into the marketplace.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Use principles of Calm Technology to design the next generation of connected devices.
  • Design appropriate notification systems into both physical and software products.
  • Communicate the principles of Calm Technology to your across your organization and team.
  • Use methods of Calm Technology to design technology for generations, not seasons.
  • Enter your product successfully into the marketplace.

Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is for anyone that actively builds or makes decisions about technology, especially user experience designers, product designers, managers, creative directors and developers.

Attendees are encouraged to have some background in user experience design and look at Calmtech.com or Designing Calm Technology before the workshop.

What hardware/software do you need?

Bringing a laptop is not required, as work will be done on paper and in groups.

About Amber Case

Amber Case studies the interaction between humans and computers and how our relationship with information is changing the way cultures think, act, and understand their worlds. Case is currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a visiting researcher at the MIT Center for Civic Media.

Case is the author of Calm Technology, Design for the Next Generation of Devices.

Time & Location

This full-day workshop will be hosted at the Ivey Tangerine Leadership Centre and will take place the day before SmashingConf. The workshop will be running from 9:30am to 5:00pm on Monday, June 24.

Schedule for Monday, June 24

9:00 AM – Doors open, Registration
9:30 AM – Introduction & Kick-off
11:00 AM – Coffee Break
1:00 PM – Lunch
2:00 PM – Afternoon Session
3:30 PM – Coffee Break
5:00 PM – The End

Save C$100 when signing up for the conference and a workshop!

This workshop has been cancelled.