Good tools give us our attention back

Good tools give us our attention back. So much of what we build today does the opposite: apps compete for our time, interfaces ask to be looked at. Yet the tools I love most are the ones I barely notice while I use them.

A good pair of scissors, a well-balanced knife, a lamp that lights exactly what you need. You don't think about them; you think about the paper, the onion, the book. The tool disappears into the task, and your attention stays where it belongs.

That's why I believe good design is almost invisible. Not because nobody made decisions, but because someone made so many that you don't have to. The better we do our job, the less people have to think about it.

That's the kind of design I want to make, on screen and off it: tools that respect people's attention, and give it back.