Work of friction

last updated 7 September 2022

To mark Wallpaper's landmark 20th anniversary issue, we asked game-changing polymath du jour Thomas Heatherwick to help us celebrate. The result? His Friction Cover – a gloriously simplistic paperwork that, in just five cuts (and a little tearing, sticking and studding) sums up Heatherwick's intuitive and joyous approach to design.

It's straightforward stuff, but in case you're in need of a bit of a visual guidance in putting your ‘Friction Cover’ together, we've come up with the above video – a brief making-of to help you slide through the first 20 years of Wallpaper*.

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.