CalArts alumnus and Samsung designer Golden Krishna (Art BFA 10) recently presented a talk at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals, boldly stating that “the best interface is no interface.” Krishna elucidates this point by comparing a BMW app that takes 13 steps to unlock a car door to a Mercedes-Benz vehicle that detects the car keys in the driver’s pocket and automatically unlocks the door for them.
“Our love for the digital interface is out of control,” he adds. Putting an interface on everything—on speedometers, on fridges and even on ovens—has become the designer’s solution for everything.
From the SXSW program notes:
This conversation will explore a better path: No UI. A design methodology that aims to produce a radically simple technological future without digital interfaces. In its most sophisticated form, it centers around learning about individuals, continuously improves and becomes exponentially pertinent. Eliminating counterintuitive input mechanisms for natural inputs inverts the contemporary focus of software design to have computers adapt for people, rather than people adapt for computers. The results can have a profound impact on our lives, and your design process.
Krishna is preparing to launch a website to further his ideas. In the meantime, you can search for the hashtag #NoUI on Twitter to find out about new developments. We posted a video of Krishna talking about No UI, above.
Paul Fraser contributed to this post.