Poko manifesto · 12 October 2026
Design for the humans inside
Our beliefs about attention, capability, agency, and what better systems should make possible.
Start with function
What important thing needs to happen in real life? What currently makes it harder? A label alone does not answer either question.
Look at the whole system
The person, task, environment, technology, relationships, and available support all shape what becomes possible.
Respect finite resources
Attention, time, working memory, capacity, and recovery are constraints to design around. They do not expand because a system demands more.
Choose the right lever
Sometimes the answer is a skill. Sometimes it is a reminder, clearer workflow, quieter room, fewer demands, another person, or appropriate clinical support.
Measure the result and the cost
Ask whether the task happened. Also ask how much fatigue, checking, recovery, rework, or hidden effort it required.
Preserve agency
People should be able to understand and control their own data, settings, and decisions. Technology should support judgement and remain correctable.
Leave room to adapt
A plan needs space for reality. Capacity to notice, learn, respond, and recover is part of performance.
Let evidence change the model
Our ideas should face rival explanations and meaningful tests. Useful results matter more than protecting an elegant theory.