1. invisible design propagates the myth of immateriality

computers are real physical machines. they break. the cloud is not magic. dont abstract it to be.

2. invisible design falls into the natural/intuitive trap

why was my car unlocked when i opened it in the morning? our computer systems are increasingly complicated. and we dont fully understand them. so we need tools to properly see inside and make sense of them.

3. invisible design ignores interface culture

interfaces are the dominant cultural form of our time - every online interaction happens through an interface. the tech should follow the culture. the culture shouldn't follow the technology. clunky nokia menus vs ios bouncy apps

4. invisible design ignores design and technology history

talk about seamlessness / seamfulness in design - (tbh a little unclear on a seam) - ie seams between highlighter tool and the find+replace tool in a text editor

seamlessness encourages passivity and a lack of engagement with your actions

good design makes a complex machine understandable

conclusion

invisibility is dishonest - leads to potential for unusable, harmful, and frustrating interfaces

instead..... focus on making interfaces for complex systems self-evident and legible. give users control over the systems. interfaces should foreground culture over technology.