Kai Gradert

The Interface Is the Padded Cell

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure to work with Kai Krause on a variety of projects that pushed the creative boundaries and challenged the status quo of interface design.

In this rare video clip Kai Krause provides an insight into some of the guiding principles that defined tools such as KPT Bryce and Kai’s Power Tools:

The interface is the padded cell, you just can’t hurt yourself. Whatever you do, it invites you to play with the buttons and click on everything.<footer> - Kai Krause</footer>

This level of game-like playfulness is often lost in today’s apps and services. We are so concerned about metrics and conversion rates that we overlook the human elements that capture people’s imagination.