Calm Design Lab runs a portfolio of long-term research programs, each examining a different dimension of attention in designed systems —
developed with researchers, institutions, and organizations working on related questions.
HEALTHY ENGAGEMENT
Status: Active
Investigating what healthy engagement looks like in digital systems, this program asks how platforms can sustain meaningful participation without relying on extractive engagement mechanics, and what a healthier alternative actually requires in practice.
AGENTIC ATTENTION
Status: Upcoming
A framework for designing and governing attention in AI-mediated environments, from interruption architecture to new models of delegation between humans and AI agents. As agentic systems take on more of the work of directing our attention, this program asks what makes that delegation sound rather than extractive.
MATERIAL ATTENTION
Status: Upcoming
Attention as bodily and material experience, not only cognitive. Grounded in site-specific artistic practice, this program investigates how physical space, presence, and embodiment shape —and are shaped by— designed attentional environments.
ATTENTION COMMONS
Status: Upcoming
Attention as a collective resource and a question of power: who controls it, who protects it, and what it means to govern it in common. This program situates attention within broader debates on digital rights and collective infrastructure.