Design Frictions for Mindful Interactions

Anna L. Cox, Sandy J.J. Gould, Marta E. Cecchinato, Ioanna Iacovides, Ian Renfree
2016 Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI EA '16  
Design frictions, a term found in popular media articles about user experience design, refer to points of difficulty occurring during interaction with technology. Such articles often argue that these frictions should be removed from interaction flows in order to reduce the risk of user frustration and disengagement. In this paper we argue that, in many scenarios, designing friction into interactions through the introduction of microboundaries, can, in fact, have positive effects. Design
more » ... s can disrupt ÒmindlessÓ automatic interactions, prompting moments of reflection and more ÒmindfulÓ interaction. The potential advantages of intentionally introduced frictions are numerous: from reducing the likelihood of errors in data-entry tasks, to supporting health-behaviour change.
doi:10.1145/2851581.2892410 dblp:conf/chi/CoxGCIR16 fatcat:jezmz3kvnngbnmqv2uprv2u7he