by julia🐨razumovskaia -

3# Inclusion & Accessibility – Design & Research II (Katerina)

These factors highlight that access to slow navigation is not the same for everyone. The experience depends on physical abilities, emotional awareness, and cognitive skills—such as the ability to walk, recognize one’s mood, and make decisions about the route. It also requires a certain level of spatial awareness, which is not always equally developed or maintained.

At the same time, accessibility is shaped by external conditions: pedestrian infrastructure, GPS accuracy, access to mobile devices, safety, and cultural habits of movement. This shows that slow navigation is not just a matter of design, but a systemic issue influenced by the environment, technology, and the social context in which the user finds themselves.

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

#2 Change & Impact – Design & Research II (Katerina)

This comparison highlights the shift from efficiency-oriented navigation to experience-oriented movement. Most existing navigation systems prioritize speed, offering the fastest route by default and guiding users through the city with minimal user involvement.

As a result, users typically follow directions passively, often losing their sense of the surrounding environment and missing opportunities to interact with it. Travel becomes functional rather than experience-driven.

In contrast, this project explores navigation as something more adaptive and human-centered—where routes respond to mood and context, encourage exploration, and foster a more meaningful relationship with the city.

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

#1 System Map – Design & Research II (Katerina)

This diagram illustrates the broader ecosystem surrounding my slow map navigation system. At the center are the direct users—people who move around the city with different needs, rhythms, and intentions. Surrounding them are groups that use maps in their daily lives, from residents to travelers, each of whom perceives the city in their own way.

The outer layer shows indirect users—entities that do not use the product itself but shape the conditions in which it exists. Urban planners, local businesses, infrastructure, and data systems—all of these influence how we move, which routes are available, and how the city is perceived.

Together, this underscores that navigation is not just a tool, but part of a larger system. How we move through the city is shaped not only by personal choice, but also by design decisions, the environment, and the social structures around us.

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Finding our way without rushing 10/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology #navigation #urbanexperience

[1] Photo by Margo Vorobeva

Most modern navigation tools are optimized for one goal: efficiency.
The fastest route. The shortest time. The fewest obstacles.

But cities are not just systems for getting around. They are places to experience, observe, and gradually build relationships with. And our movement through them shapes our sense of connection — or alienation.

I imagine a different type of navigation. One that adapts not only to geography, but also to people.

What if a map asked not only where you want to go, but also how you want to feel along the way?

🗺️ A map that takes into account:

⭐ your mood (calm, curious, tired, sociable);
⭐ your time (a quick walk or a day off);
⭐ your preferences (parks, cafes, quiet streets, shops, dog-friendly routes etc.);
⭐ and your familiarity with the city.

💡 Instead of constantly directing you along the same optimized routes, the system could gently suggest alternatives:

👉 a longer route through the park when you need to slow down;
👉 a street you’ve never walked down before;
👉 a neighborhood you usually pass by, but never visit;
👉 a café along the way when the time seems right.

This wouldn’t remove choice — it would expand it.
Multiple routes. Different rhythms. Clear intentions.

*Video is AI generated

Research by Gregory D Clemenson already shows that the way we navigate affects how we remember places and how focused we are on what is happening. Clear step-by-step instructions can reduce spatial awareness and personal engagement with the environment, while more exploratory or sensory forms of navigation promote cognitive mapping and concentration. [2]

Urban theorists such as Jan Gehl have long argued that cities should be designed with human experience in mind—for walking, stopping, observing, and staying—rather than solely for high throughput and speed. However, digital navigation often pulls us in the opposite direction. [3]

In large cities such as Vienna, London, New York, or Moscow, it is easy to live in a very small personal world:

🏠 home → 🖥️ work → ☕ favorite café → 🛍️ supermarket

Entire neighborhoods remain unknown, even after many years of living there. A slow, adaptive navigation system could gently open up these worlds. Not by forcing detours, but by inviting them.

I want to explore this idea in more detail: to develop a navigation interface that prioritizes quality of movement over speed, awareness over automation, and choice over control.

A map that doesn’t rush you to your destination,
but helps you build a relationship with the city along the way.

💚Thank you!💚

Sources 🛈

[1] Mobile photo: Movement. 35AWARDS Photography Contest. Best of Contest, Viewer’s Choice, Top 35. Photographer: Margo Aleksandrovna Vorobeva. Available at: https://35awards.com/page/contests/num/743

[2] Rethinking GPS navigation: creating cognitive maps through auditory cues. Scientific Reports, 2021. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8032695

[3] Gehl, J. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. Island Press, 2011. Available at: https://cus.ubt-uni.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jan-Gehl-Life-Between-Buildings_-Using-Public-Space-2011-Island-Press.pdf

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Slowness in Navigation: How Maps Shape the Way We Move 9/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology #navigation #urbanexperience

Most navigation tools are built around one promise: get me there fast. The “best” route is usually the shortest, fastest, or most efficient. And, as with many digital products, this default value subtly trains us to behave in a certain way: we start moving through places rather than being in them.

This article looks at maps as interfaces that design movement. Not just in apps, but in cities too. When a system optimizes speed, it changes what we pay attention to, how we feel while traveling, and what we remember afterward.

🤔 Why this matters (beyond convenience)

❗ Your attention narrows: you follow instructions rather than your surroundings.
❗ Exploration slows down: you stop noticing landmarks, textures, narrow streets, and “micro-attractions.”
❗ Stress builds up: constant updates and the “keep moving” logic can feel like pressure—similar to how notifications increase the sense of urgency in digital life.

🚶‍➡️ Maps as “pace setters”

When using turn-by-turn navigation, you delegate some of the tasks of orientation and decision-making. Research in the field of navigational assistance has raised concerns that clear directions may reduce the effectiveness of spatial learning (you reach your destination, but remember less information about the route).

This is the key question of “slow living” in navigation:

Do we need a tool that simply takes us from point A to point B, or one that helps us connect with the place?

“…current GPS apps (based on turn-by-turn navigation) promote a passive form of navigation that does not support learning or the formation of cognitive maps.” — Microsoft Research, Redmond (2021) [1]

🗺️ Comparing map logics (what each app “optimizes for”)

1. Google Maps [2]

👉 Key principle: efficiency + accessibility for all


Advantages:
➕Extremely efficient A→B routing, multimodal options, reliable POI database.

Designed for quick decision-making: “best route,” “fastest route,” “leave now.”

Disadvantages:
➖The “fastest” approach may dominate, even if you have time.
➖Research is present, but it is secondary to speed (you can explore, but the interface pushes you toward achieving your goal).

2.Yandex Maps [3]

👉 Key principle: city management + detailed urban practicality (Russian cities)

Advantages:
➕ Often very detailed dense urban development: entrances, public transport logic, accurate location determination.
➕ The feeling of “the city as a system”: created for everyday travel in difficult conditions.

Disadvantages:
➖ As a rule, it supports a functional rhythm focused on daily travel: fast, straightforward, problem-solving.

3.Mapy.cz [4]

👉 Key principle: outdoor recreation + hiking/walking/cycling culture

Advantages:
➕ Great for hiking as an activity, not just a means of transportation.
➕ Offline-oriented logic and detailed route information encourage exploration and the creation of longer routes.

Specific example: Mapy.cz emphasizes offline maps and convenient route planning as a key set of features (especially useful for hiking, trekking, and traveling).

Disadvantages:
➖ The product “expects” you to wander. This expectation alone changes the pace.

Let’s compare the same place — the city center of Vienna — across different map interfaces:

Google maps
Yandex maps
Mapy.cz

🙋 Why would “slow navigation” be optimized?

If we rewrite the criteria for success, we get a different interface:

Instead of: the fastest route
Try: a peaceful route / an interesting route / a safe route / an accessible route / a shaded route / a scenic route

Slow navigation could purposefully include:
👉 landmarks (parks, observation decks, cafes) as key elements of the route
👉 rest stops (benches, quiet places, small squares) as part of the journey
👉 a gentle choice instead of one “best” route (3 moods, not 3 minutes)

This is directly related to the city: if streets are shared spaces, design should not only serve drivers and speed.

Sources 🛈

[1] Rethinking GPS navigation: creating cognitive maps through auditory cues. Scientific Reports. 2021. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8032695

[2] Google Maps.Google LLC. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps

[3] Yandex Maps. Yandex LLC. Available at: https://yandex.com/maps

[4] Mapy.cz. Seznam.cz, a.s. Available at: https://mapy.cz

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

The City as a Designed System: Architecture, Space, and Pace 8/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology

In my last three blog posts, I want to focus more on the city and the human experience in the city, the moments when we slow down and speed up, why this happens, and how design can shape our experience. In the last 10th blog post, I will describe an idea that came to me while using maps for traveling, hiking, and using maps in the three countries where I have lived.

Cities often have a default sense of urgency. We rush through the streets, quickly moving between buildings and rarely stopping unless there is a clear reason to do so. This feeling of acceleration is usually associated with modern lifestyles or digital technologies. However, long before the advent of smartphones and notifications, the city itself was already shaping the speed at which we move.

🏛️ Architecture as an Invisible Script

“First we shape the cities — then they shape us.” — Jan Gehl, Life Between Buildings (2011) [1]

Urban planning determines not only where we can go, but also how we get there. Wide, straight streets encourage continuous movement. Narrow sidewalks discourage lingering. Long building facades with minimal variation encourage visual scanning rather than observation. Even the absence of benches, ledges, or secluded corners suggests that stopping is not expected.

[2] Vester Voldgade, Copenhagen.

🤳🏾 Cities as Interfaces

From an interactive design perspective, a city can be viewed as an interface consisting of physical components:

👉 streets as navigation paths;
👉 intersections as points of interaction;
👉 buildings as visual landmarks;
👉 public spaces as potential places to pause — or missed opportunities.

As in digital systems, default settings matter. When urban space is designed primarily for efficiency, throughput, and movement, speed becomes the implicit norm. There is little friction, but also little invitation to linger.

Urban planner Kevin Lynch in his book “The Image of the City” emphasized how spatial clarity aids orientation and movement, but also warned that excessive legibility can turn a city into a mere transportation environment rather than a place where new experiences can be had.

[3] Urban Planning Elements: Kevin A. Lynch.

🏃‍♀️ Designing for Flow, Not Staying

Modern cities are increasingly optimizing flows: transportation efficiency, pedestrian capacity, visibility, and safety. While these goals are valid, they often result in spaces that are difficult to inhabit at a leisurely pace. Transitional areas—entrances, plazas, underpasses—are designed to move people through, not allow them to linger.

This logic stands in sharp contrast to alternative urban models such as the Cittaslow movement. The Cittaslow manifesto explicitly challenges acceleration as a default urban value, proposing a city designed not primarily for throughput, but for quality of everyday life. [4]

🦥 What is a Slowcity:

The Cittaslow manifesto contains seventy recommendations and obligations, the main ones being the following :

  • Enhancement of the historic urban heritage by avoiding the construction of new buildings.
  • Reduction of energy consumption.
  • Promotion of ecological technologies.
  • Multiplication of green spaces and leisure areas.
  • Cleanliness of the city.
  • Priority to public transport and other non-polluting transport.
  • Reduction of waste and development of recycling programs.
  • Increase in the number of pedestrian areas.
  • Development of local shops.
  • Development of community infrastructures and equipment adapted to the disabled and the various ages of life.
  • Development of a genuine participatory democracy.
  • Preservation and development of local customs and regional products.
  • Exclusion of GMOs.

🏎️ Pace as a Design Outcome

[5] Making Cities Slower… And Safer For All.

Speed in the city is rarely a personal choice. It is determined by structural decisions: street width, building density, visibility, and the presence or absence of places to rest. These elements together determine the rhythm of the city.

Understanding the city as a designed system helps shift the focus away from blaming individuals for driving too fast. Acceleration is often not a mindset—it is an architectural condition.

Speed in the city is rarely a personal choice. It is shaped by structural decisions embedded in street design and urban layout. When movement is prioritized over presence, speed becomes the default — even in spaces meant to be shared.

“City streets aren’t the sole domain of cars and their drivers. They’re also home to pedestrians of all ages, to cyclists, mobility scooter and wheelchair users, to groups of playing children, and mass transit passengers. They are shared spaces, which means they need to provide safety to all.” — Making Cities Slower and Safer for All, Forbes (2024) [6]

Sources 🛈

[1] Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space. Jan Gehl. Island Press, 2011. Available at: https://cus.ubt-uni.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jan-Gehl-Life-Between-Buildings_-Using-Public-Space-2011-Island-Press.pdf

[2] Vester Voldgade, Copenhagen. Massengale Blog. Available at: https://blog.massengale.com/2015/07/19/vester-voldgade/

[3] Urban Planning Elements: Kevin A. Lynch. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8OuADNE1EQ

[4] In Praise of Slowness: Let’s Slow Down the City! Citego. Available at: https://www.citego.org/bdf_fiche-document-1735_en.html

[5,6] Making Cities Slower and Safer for All. Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewinkless/2024/07/17/making-cities-slower-and-safer-for-all/

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Embodied Interaction: How the Body Influences Our Perception of Slowness 7/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology

UX and UI design is often viewed as a visual or cognitive discipline: layout, flows, clarity, usability.

However, every interaction with a digital service is also a physical experience. Users hold devices, move their fingers, adjust their posture, pause, breathe, and repeat gestures hundreds of times a day. The body is not an external factor, but the environment through which digital interaction takes place.

In the context of physical interaction, the main focus is on the physical layer of the user experience. This is especially important in “slowness”, as slowing down is not only perceived mentally or visually. It is felt through movement, tension, rhythm, and physical effort. Interfaces shape the behavior of the body — and, consequently, how time is perceived.

🤹‍♂️ The Body Inside Everyday Digital Services

Most everyday applications implicitly train the body to move quickly. Social media feeds encourage rapid scrolling, messaging apps reward instant responses, and productivity tools favor quick taps and minimal friction. These models may optimize efficiency, but they also accelerate the body’s rhythm:

Fingers move faster, attention shifts more frequently, and interactions become reactive.

[1] Lived Customer Experience

👋 Slow Gestures as UX Decisions

Gesture design is a powerful time management tool. When interaction is based on slow or prolonged gestures, it naturally discourages impulsive use.

Examples:

👉Long press instead of instant tap — requires a decision, not a reflex.
👉Holding to confirm actions — prevents accidental behavior.
👉Gradual unfolding of interactions — unfolds over time rather than ending instantly.

“A delayed button press is not just about waiting — it’s about signalling intention and providing feedback that connects the user’s body to the system. It creates a moment for the user to feel the interaction, rather than skim through UI elements without awareness.” — Lodestar Design [2]

👻 Tactile interaction and physical presence

Touch is not just a means of input, it carries emotional and temporal meaning. Touching, pressing, sliding, or holding are felt differently by the body, and interfaces that take this difference into account create a greater sense of stability.

Meditation and journaling apps often use this approach, avoiding aggressive touch navigation in favor of smooth transitions and prolonged touchscreen interaction.

A good example is the Calm [3] app, where respond smoothly to touch duration and pressure, that creates a stronger sense of presence. Instead of treating input as abstract commands, they treat it as physical engagement.

🏃 Movement-based feedback and body rhythm

Movement plays a key role in how the body interprets digital feedback. Abrupt animations signal urgency and demand attention. Smooth, gradual movements better match natural physical expectations.

Calm motion-based feedback:

👉 reduces startle response;
👉 supports continuity rather than interruption;
👉 mirrors the dynamics of physical processes in the real world.

Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines emphasize motion that feels “natural and respectful of user focus”, especially in transitions and state changes. This approach helps interactions feel less mechanical and more embodied.

“Aim for brevity and precision in feedback animations. When animated feedback is brief and precise, it tends to feel lightweight and unobtrusive.” — Apple Human Interface Guidelines, Motion [4]

⏸️ Pauses, Stillness, and Physiological Effects

Continuous interaction keeps the body in a state of readiness. Interfaces that never pause encourage shallow breathing and constant micro-movement. In contrast, designs that allow stillness — screens that wait, moments without animation, interactions without immediate feedback — create space for physiological regulation.

Some focus and writing tools deliberately avoid real-time notifications or visual noise, allowing users to remain physically settled for longer periods.

Good example is iA Writer, which minimizes interface elements to reduce physical and cognitive agitation.

📢 Why Embodied Interaction is important in UX/UI design

Without taking the body into account, slow design risks becoming superficial—calm visual effects are superimposed on fast, demanding interaction models. True slowness arises when visual, cognitive, and physical rhythms are aligned.

Designing with embodiment in mind means designing with how services are actually used, not just how they look on screens.

Sources 🛈

[1] Phenomenology and CX: Designing for Lived Experience in a Digital World. New Metrics. Available at: https://www.newmetrics.net/insights/phenomenology-and-cx-designing-for-lived-experience-in-a-digital-world/

[2] Process Doc: Micro Interactions of a Delayed Button Press. Lodestar Design (Medium). Available at: https://medium.com/@lodestar-design/process-doc-micro-interactions-of-a-delayed-button-press-456d7bcfb0b3

[3] Calm: Meditation, Sleep, and Relaxation App. Calm.com. Available at: https://www.calm.com/

[4] Motion — Human Interface Guidelines. Apple Developer. Available at: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/motion/

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Temporal Experience in UX: How Interfaces Shape Our Sense of Time 6/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology

In UX design, time is almost never neutral.


Even if an interface is designed to be “fast,” it still actively influences the perception of time: as pressure, flow, anticipation, boredom, or calm. Users don’t perceive milliseconds — they perceive moments. In this sense, every interface is also a temporal system.

From a technical perspective, time is rather an objective parameter. Loading takes a certain number of seconds, animations have a fixed duration, and interactions can be measured and optimized. From a human perspective, time is definitely subjective and variable. The same interaction can be perceived as rushed or relaxed depending on how it is structured, presented, and built. UX design is not just a process that occurs over time — it creates a sense of time.

Waiting Is a Designed Experience

Waiting is often treated as a failure state, something to hide or minimize. Yet waiting is one of the most emotionally charged temporal moments in UX.

The loading moment may sometimes feel:

👉 stressful and uncertain;
👉 neutral and unnoticeable;
👉 or calm and exciting.

This depends not so much on duration as on meaning. Progress indicators, language, movement, and visual rhythm all influence whether waiting is perceived as wasted time or purposeful preparation. When waiting is well structured, users tolerate it better—sometimes they hardly notice it.

“Show people what’s taking so long and they’ll be more satisfied. Sometimes they even *prefer a longer waiting time with information over a bland progress bar that is twice as fast because they know what to expect.” — Sanne Eikelboom [1]

Micro-Interactions Create Temporal Rhythm

“Micro-interactions are small but crucial elements that enhance user experience (UX). They offer intuitive cues and turn routine tasks into enjoyable moments. Learn about their significance in modern UX design through examples and best practices. Understand how these subtle interactions contribute to more engaging and intuitive digital environments.”[2]

[3] Micro-interactions to delight your users: what, when and how.

Micro-interactions shape our perception of the interface:

👉reactive or thoughtful;
👉hasty or deliberate;
👉demanding or forgiving.

Temporary perception arises not from a single animation, but from the accumulated rhythm of interaction.

Compression and fragmentation of time

Many digital products compress time by eliminating pauses and natural stopping points. Infinite scrolling, autoplay, and algorithmic sequencing contribute to continuous movement.

“The infinite scroll is just another one of these addictive design features … I often find myself … scrolling through recommended feeds on YouTube and Netflix for minutes on end, only to give up and not watch anything because nothing seems interesting. … You scroll. And scroll and scroll and scroll.” — Grant Collins [4]

The result is not only faster consumption, but also a disruption of the sense of time:

👉 users feel constantly active;
👉 but rarely feel present in the moment;
👉 and time passes without a clear memory of how it was spent.

Speed here does not equal efficiency — the opposite, it often leads to fatigue.

Making Time Visible Again

Some interfaces take the opposite approach: time is displayed rather than hidden. When users see the duration, progress, or boundaries of a session, they regain awareness and control over the situation.

“Showing elapsed time … accentuates the passing of each and every second and minute. When we show elapsed time, psychologically it is a bit of torture for the user and it accentuates the passing of each and every second and minute.” — Chris Kiess [5]

Examples include:

👉 a clear beginning and end;
👉 a summary of events or reflections on time;
👉 explicit pauses instead of endless continuation.

Visuality transforms time from something fleeting into something users can interact with and control.

When time becomes visible, interaction shifts from passive consumption to purposeful engagement. Users are no longer absorbed by a continuous default stream—they are given the opportunity to decide whether to continue, pause, or stop. Visibility transforms time from an invisible resource consumed by users into a shared reference point that they can understand and manage.

Sources 🛈

[1] Loading UX: Make Users Not Care About Having to Wait. UX Design. Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/loading-ux-make-users-not-care-about-having-to-wait-c3b02a0220b5

[2] Micro-Interactions in UX. Interaction Design Foundation. Available at: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/micro-interactions-ux

[3] Micro-interactions to delight your users: what, when and how. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgrkV_hJdJw

[4] Why the Infinite Scroll Is So Addictive. UX Design (UX Collective). Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/why-the-infinite-scroll-is-so-addictive-9928367019c5

[5] Expressing Time in UI & UX Design: 5 Rules…and a few other things. Prototypr. Available at: https://blog.prototypr.io/expressing-time-in-ui-ux-design-5-rules-and-a-few-other-things-eda5531a41a7

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Case Study Review: Digital Products That Already Practice Slowness 5/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology

In this part of my research, I would like to review apps and digital products that, in my opinion, practice the basic principles I discussed in my previous article, or that align with the ideology of “slowness” and promote it to the masses.
I have tried all of these apps myself, and I will try to draw objective conclusions and also point out my observations while using the app.

🌳 Forest: Stay Focused

The app was created in 2014 in Taiwan by the Seekrtech team. The team was inspired by digital overload and the habit of constantly checking our phones. Unlike strict blockers, including iPhone blockers, Forest offers a beautiful, metaphorical approach to managing our attention, namely through the idea of growing and caring for a tree.[1]

How does it work ❔

The user plants a virtual tree, and the tree grows for a set period of time. If you exit the app or use your phone while the tree is growing, it will immediately die. In this way, attention is transformed into a process that requires time, patience, and consistency.
The interface is minimalistic and visually calm—almost nothing happens during a session in the app, which reduces cognitive load and supports slow and steady concentration.

Forest makes pausing and waiting a valuable experience rather than an interface flaw. The app demonstrates that slowness can be not an obstacle, but a conscious design tool that supports user attention and well-being.

🌟🌟Are.na (knowledge & research platform)

Are.na is an online social networking community and creative research platform founded by Charles Broskoski, Daniel Pianetti, Chris Barley, and Chris Sherron. Are.na was built as a successor to hypertext projects like Ted Nelson’s Xanadu, and as an ad-free alternative to social networks like Facebook, forgoing “likes,” “favorites,” or “shares” in its design. Are.na allows users to compile uploaded and web-clipped “blocks” into different “channels,” and has been described as a “vehicle for conscious Internet browsing,” “playlists, but for ideas,” and a “toolkit for assembling new worlds.[2]

How the slowness is practised ❔

⭐There is no endless feed or algorithmic content delivery.
⭐Users curate channels manually, gradually and consciously.
⭐There are no likes, ratings, or engagement metrics.

Why it matters❔:
The platform encourages slow accumulation and rethinking of information, rather than rapid consumption.

📖 Readwise Reader (reading & reflection tool)

Readwise is a digital tool designed to help you retain and organize the most valuable insights from your reading. Readwise leverages powerful techniques like spaced repetition and active recall to supercharge your memory. Through Daily Reviews, Readwise ensures you regularly revisit key insights from your reading material, perfectly timed to enhance retention. This prevents knowledge from slipping away and keeps your memory sharp.[3]

How does it work ❔[4]

How the slowness is practised ❔

Readwise has a very calm, understated interface: there are no notifications, endless feeds, or visual tricks that encourage rapid scrolling. Instead, the app encourages thoughtful, sequential reading. An important feature of Readwise is the ability to return to texts over time: saved fragments and notes periodically reappear, inviting you to reread and rethink them. As a result, reading ceases to be a one-time activity and becomes a longer, slower process of reflection, where understanding and memorization are more important than speed and quantity.

📩 Slowly (intentional communication app)

Slowly is created for those who yearn for the meaningful conversations that are lacking in the era of instant messaging. It connects people around the world at a slower but better pace.

Meet a new pen pal, seal your letter, and stamp it—start connecting with the world on Slowly![5]

I love this app! I meet the most wonderful people in a longer format, more curious, more meaningful context. I’ve met people who live across the river and across the ocean from me, and we are all so similar. — Paula Anderson [6]

How does it work ❔

Unlike instant messengers, messages do not arrive instantly: delivery time depends on the distance between the correspondents and can range from several hours to several days. This deliberate slowdown changes the very attitude towards communication — letters are written thoughtfully, not impulsively, paying attention to wording and meaning rather than speed of response.

This approach reduces the pressure of constant availability and the expectation of immediate responses. Communication becomes more conscious and emotionally rich, and the pause between messages ceases to be “empty time” and becomes part of the experience. Slowly shows that digital products can support depth and trust not through acceleration, but through rhythm and anticipation.

🎞️ Letterboxd (platform for mindful viewing and reflection on cinema)

Letterboxd — is not just a service for marking watched movies, but a space for a slow approach to media. Instead of clip consumption, it encourages users to record their impressions after viewing: users write notes, return to movies, and build their own history of taste over time. There is no pressure to rush — you can’t “scroll through” a movie, and feedback only appears after the experience is complete.[6]

How the slowness is practised ❔

⭐Interaction occurs after watching the film, not during.
⭐The emphasis is on reflection and forming an opinion, not on instant reaction.
⭐No endless consumption or autoplay.
⭐The profile functions as a personal archive of experiences, not as a quick content feed.

Sources 🛈

[1] Forest App. Forest: Stay Focused — About the App. Seekrtech Co., Ltd. Available at: https://www.forestapp.cc/

[2] Are.na. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are.na

[3] Readwise Docs. What Is Readwise? Readwise Documentation, 2025. Available at: https://docs.readwise.io/readwise/docs

[4] Readwise. Home Page, Readwise, 2025. Available at: https://readwise.io/

[5] Slowly. Home Page, Slowly, 2025. Available at: https://slowly.app/

[6] Letterboxd. Home Page, Letterboxd, 2025. Available at: https://letterboxd.com/

by julia🐨razumovskaia -

Calm & Slow Interaction: Key Principles for Designing Attention – Aware Interfaces 4/10

#slowness #slowliving #slowinteraction #digitalcalm #calmtechnology

Designing with slowness in mind does not mean slowing down or reducing the functionality of technologies. It is about creating interfaces that feel calmer, more understandable, and less demanding. Slow and calm interaction helps reduce digital stress and gives users more space to reflect, observe, and enjoy the moment.

Below are a few simple principles that demonstrate how you can incorporate slowness into everyday applications and digital interactions.

⏸️ Meaningful Pauses

Pauses allow users to understand, reflect, or simply take a breather between actions. These pauses don’t disrupt the experience, but rather structure it.

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Introduce short pauses before irreversible actions (e.g., deleting elements).
⭐ Add micro-delays to animations that create a natural rhythm to the interface instead of an instant transition.
⭐ Use loading states intentionally, providing small contextual cues instead of distracting spinning indicators.

A well-placed pause can transform interactions from reactive to intent-driven.

🐢 Gentle Transitions

Quick, sharp transitions create a sense of speed and urgency. Smoother transitions reduce cognitive strain and make interfaces more tactile.

“Your brain loves continuity. Abrupt changes? Stressful. Jerky movement? Distracting. Our minds crave flow. And transitional elements, when done right, smooth out the experience…” — Marco Mazzurrana [1]

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Replace instant screen switches with smooth transitions, slides, or dissolves.
⭐ Use easing curves that simulate physical motion rather than mechanical jumps.
⭐ Allow UI elements to appear gradually, rather than all at once.

Even a transition lasting 150–250 ms can change the feel of the interaction.

😵 Low information density

Screens with high information density overload working memory. Low density creates space for attention.

“High information density places heavy demands on user cognition, forcing the brain to process too many signals at once. In contrast, a leaner information layout reduces cognitive load and allows the mind to focus and make sense of content more easily.” — Poulami Chakraborty [2]

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Prioritize one task on each screen.
⭐ Ensure gradual disclosure of information: show only what is necessary at the moment.
⭐ Reduce the number of simultaneous notifications, icons, and visual competition.[3]

A calm interface communicates information only when necessary.

👂 Embodied interaction

Slowness can come from the body: breathing, posture, pace, and gestures shape how we interact with technology.

“Touch, sound, and vision are the primary senses apps use to influence how we behave. These sensory channels shape how we feel and respond before we even think about it.” — Harrish Murugesan [4]

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Use gestures that encourage slower, smoother movements (long press, drag, explore).
⭐ Integrate tactile feedback that mimics physical softness rather than sharp impulses.
⭐ Encourage interfaces that respond to movement — walking, pausing, turning — rather than just touch.

This principle brings interaction closer to real human rhythm.

⚡️ Reducing pressure when making decisions

Fast interfaces speed up the selection process, often increasing cognitive fatigue.[5]

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Provide clear recommendations instead of overloaded menus.
⭐ Limit the number of options available at once; use structured instructions.
⭐ Offer “later” or “not now” options to reduce urgency.

Reducing pressure creates psychological space.

⌛ Temporal consistency

A slow interface should not switch unexpectedly between fast and slow modes; its rhythm is predictable.

❔ How to apply:
⭐ Maintain a consistent animation speed.
⭐ Align the timing for different functions.
⭐ Avoid mixing abrupt transitions with slow ones.[6]

Temporal consistency builds trust.

Sources 🛈

[1] Marco Mazzurrana. Designing the Pause: How Transitional Elements Shape User Experience. maerco.framer.ai, 2024. Available at: https://maerco.framer.ai/blog/designing-the-pause-how-transitional-elements-shape-user-experience

[2] UX Collective. Designing for Information Density. UX Design, 2021. Available at: https://uxdesign.cc/designing-for-information-density-69775165a18e

[3] Fresh Consulting. Manage Data Density: High-Level to Low-Level. Insights Blog, 2021. Available at:
https://www.freshconsulting.com/insights/blog/ui-ux-principle-52-manage-data-density-high-level-to-low-level/

[4] Harrish Murugesan. “Psychology Behind UI/UX Design.” TEDxUTA, 2021. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdXI9yznzz8

[5] Jayasurya P. Understanding Decision-Making in Terms of UX: Dual Theory Insights. Medium, 2022. Available at:
https://medium.com/design-bootcamp/understanding-decision-making-in-terms-of-ux-dual-theory-insights-e66ef7432b2b

[6] Nielsen Norman Group. Consistency and Standards. NN/g Articles, 2020. Available at:
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/consistency-and-standards/