Design for friction. An inquiry to position friction as a method for reflection in design interventions.

Abstract

To solve emerging problems, design uses new technologies to introduce “technofixes” (Hankey & Tuszynski, 2017) that are created to improve society in various capacities. The dissolution of technology, described as “ubiquitous computing”, brings with its pervasiveness a series of consequences to the constant production of personal data online (Greene, 2019; Manovich, 2012) that tech companies have now access to. Such data created new relationships between users, tech companies and their affiliates that are far from being settled, where scandals such as Cambridge Analytica provided visibility to the issue. The lack of awareness in this system, and the efforts in designing smooth and efficient experiences at the expense of clarity, raised questions in the public and legislators. The article explores, through literature review, if non-efficiency in design could be a viable way to make users reflect when using design products. As the antithesis to efficiency, we propose the term “friction”, a lens through which existing definitions of friction in design will be analyzed, introducing the concepts of “diegetic friction” and “extra-diegetic friction” as a possible taxonomy of design interventions.