Friction by Design

What gets lost when everything is effortless?

For years, good digital design has been framed as the removal of friction. Faster flows. Fewer steps. Instant feedback. Smooth, seamless interactions that disappear into the background. If something slows a user down, it’s treated as a flaw to be eliminated.

And in many cases, that instinct is right. Unnecessary friction is frustrating. It wastes time. It creates confusion where none should exist.

But not all friction is accidental. And not all friction is bad.

Friction, when designed deliberately, serves a different purpose. It introduces a pause. A moment of awareness. A small resistance that asks the user to pay attention to what they’re doing, rather than simply passing through an interface on autopilot.

Friction exists to make us notice what we’re doing.

The problem with unrelenting frictionless design is that it optimises for motion, not meaning. When everything is instant, actions lose their weight. Decisions blur into habits. Interfaces encourage speed even when judgement, care, or reflection would serve people better.

This is where friction becomes a design choice, not a failure.

I’m not arguing to make things harder. I’m arguing to make them more considered. Because when design removes every obstacle, it doesn’t just remove effort. Sometimes, it removes awareness too.

Good vs bad friction

Bad friction is friction without purpose. It exists by accident, or through neglect. It asks more from the user without offering anything in return.

Good friction is different. It’s intentional. It’s added with a clear reason, and it earns its place in the experience — often through utility.

Bad friction wastes time. Good friction respects it.

Where friction helps

Good friction is easiest to understand when you recognise it.

Quit action in Google Chrome — Holding ⌘Q to quit a browser session is a deliberate pause before closing everything

Undo Send feature by Apple — A brief delay after sending an email, allowing you to undo before it’s final

Pagination UI design — Intentional pagination instead of infinite scrolling is progress with awareness

Forgotten to add attachment to email — A warning when an email mentions an attachment but none is included is a small check before sending

Designing for people, not momentum

Humans don’t operate best at machine speed. We think, hesitate, reconsider, and change our minds. Design that ignores this doesn’t make people more efficient — it instead pushes them to move faster than their intent.

Design that respects attention also respects limits. It recognises that focus is finite, judgement is contextual, and not every action should happen at the same pace.

Ease without thought isn’t progress. It’s just acceleration.

This article was inspired by designingfriction.com