Every six months we distil our most pertinent recent SEEDS into the cultural shifts that actually matter – one force kept rising to the surface: friction. Not as a footnote. Not as a vibe. But as the defining tension in culture right now.

For centuries, friction was framed as a problem – something that slowed systems down, created inefficiency, introduced conflict. In brand terms: something to eliminate.

Now the opposite is happening. In a world optimised for speed, ease and infinite scroll, friction is becoming valuable again – not as obstruction, but as encounter. The moment where attention deepens. Where meaning is made. We’re watching a cultural pivot: away from passive consumption, toward active engagement. From smooth to textured. From instant to intentional.

But friction isn’t about rejecting technology or becoming neo-Luddite. It’s about reintroducing just enough resistance into systems that have become too frictionless to care about.

So what does that mean for brands?

It means friction isn’t a bug. It’s a strategy. We’ve defined five ways brands can actively design for it, through tactility, imperfection, inconvenience, nuance and ambiguity. These aren’t just creative choices. They’re levers for a way to systemise friction.

Our Friction Formula

This sits at the core of the briefing and offers a simple way for brands to think about how friction actually works:

Friction = (Brand Gravity + Resistance) x Heat
  • Friction is the positive tension created when a brand resists total ease – forcing people to pause, search, wait or think.
  • Brand Gravity is what pulls people in – your world, your point of view, your cultural magnetism.
  • Resistance is what slows them down – the intentional barriers you introduce through tactility, imperfection, inconvenience, nuance or ambiguity.
  • And Heat? That’s the multiplier. The cultural energy that turns resistance from frustrating into irresistible.

If you’d like us to present this BRIEFING to your team:

Book a DEBRIEF

What does it look like in practice?

We apply the equation to brands already getting it right – from the coded minimalism of Bottega Veneta to the playful constraint of LEGO, to the controlled chaos of IKEA. Different categories. Same principle: the brands winning right now aren’t removing friction. They’re designing it.

This BRAND BRIEFING goes deep into the signals, strategies and case studies shaping this shift – and what it means for how your brand shows up next. Because this isn’t about trendspotting. It’s about understanding the tension your brand needs to hold to stay relevant.

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