In today’s increasingly frictionless, automated, and on-demand world, it’s easier than ever to live a life of convenience and ease. But at what cost? In this talk, I’ll argue why designers must learn to embrace friction as a good thing and share thoughts on how we can leverage it to retain serendipity, foster human connection, and create opportunities for self-discovery and personal growth.
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Steve Selzer
Steve Selzer is a designer, advisor, mentor, and leader in the design community. He believes in the tremendous power of design to shape behavior and transform lives. Steve explores how we can do this responsibly, and how friction, confrontation, and human-centered design play a critical role.
Steve is currently a Staff Designer at Cruise, where he’s working on the future of transportation and self-driving cars.
Before Cruise, Steve Selzer was the Head of Design at Bungalow, a Sr. Design Manager at Airbnb, and a Creative Director at Frog Design. In 2005, he cofounded a nonprofit Switchboard that was acquired by Intrahealth in 2015. And he owes much of his career success to the graduate-level education he received at Carnegie Mellon, where he also had the great privilege of teaching as an Adjunct Instructor for a semester.
Steve is passionate about human-centered design and building products, platforms, and services that enrich our lives responsibly.



