As the title suggests, Emoticons Don't Have Wrinkles is a zine that makes a plea for human feeling in the new digital realm.

Digital technology has long pursued the goal of eliminating friction, striving for seamlessness while trying to predict our behaviour. Instead of using our whole hand to interact, we now often use our fingertips to swipe screens or interact with air. Unpredictability, human messiness, and unforeseen actions are all to be eliminated. We no longer buy the promise of a frictionless world. The creators of Emoticons Don't Have Wrinkles, Luna Maurer and Roel Wouters, declare that, 'Friction is what makes us human! Friction is all we have!'

Maurer and Wouters are an Amsterdam based artist duo working in design and digital culture. They co-founded Moniker, a studio for interactive design (2012 – 2023) and now pursue projects individually and collaboratively.