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2026-04-09·Tomas Lindgren·5 min
Good tools disappear
The highest compliment for a tool is that nobody remembers using it. On interfaces that get out of the way.
You do not think about a doorknob when you open a door. That is the standard: a tool succeeded when the person forgot it was there and remembers only the work.
Every affordance we add is tested against one question — does this move attention toward the content or toward the chrome? Toolbars lost that argument here more than once.
Invisible does not mean minimal for its own sake. It means every visible element earns its place by carrying meaning the content cannot carry alone.