Reimagining the Role of Friction in Experience Design

Current definitions of friction in user experience generally emphasize reduced or eliminated friction in the pursuit of efficiency and ease of use. As the field of user experience design increasingly aims to develop highly personalized experiences for unique individuals, this narrow view of friction risks the vital role that friction plays in human life. This paper compares definitions of friction found in other fields and examines ways in which friction shows up in our day-to-day lives to suggest a working definition of friction that clarifies how the concept can be applied to the experience design challenges of tomorrow. To meet these challenges, researchers and designers need to shift from a reflexive elimination of friction to intentionally designed friction, which requires asking deeper questions about human needs and goals in addition to the examination of how we might help people accomplish tasks quickly and easily.