Timeless brands, deliberate friction and the value of design

An editorial interpretation of the conversation, distinguishing the guest’s arguments from verified business outcomes.

Why Matter Of Form chose to narrow

Anant Sharma describes Matter Of Form’s evolution from a digital product company into a consultancy focused on brand-led customer experience. His interests in journalism, magazine design and computers initially came together in digital products and startup ventures. Larger transformation programmes followed, but expanding across the digital value chain left the business stretched. He says the eventual pivot meant giving up substantial implementation opportunities to pursue smaller brand engagements. Timelessness became a way to describe clients with a strong founding spirit, a long-term outlook and a belief in design as competitive advantage.

When friction creates meaning

Sharma questions the usefulness of luxury as a catch-all label when it obscures differences in craft, provenance and quality. He argues that technology’s drive towards efficiency can also remove meaningful human encounters. In that context, deliberate friction can encourage customers to engage with a story before buying. He explicitly distinguishes this from routine purchases where convenience matters, and criticises heavy-handed exclusivity. His advice on timelessness is similarly qualified: understand future customers and cultural change, but investigate the underlying behaviours rather than simply chasing the latest trend. For hospitality design, audience, location and brand promise should guide aesthetic choices.

Imperfect craft in an efficient world

The discussion of AI turns to what people value in human effort. Sharma sees imperfect craft as evidence of skill, commitment and the person behind a product. His current interests extend beyond screen-based user experience into sensory and spatial design, including sound, scent and well-being. Yet he also sees practical uses for AI in improving consistency across everyday brand communications. His concern is that agencies relying on production and scale will face pressure as outputs become easier to make. He argues that a more valuable role joins the client’s commercial ambitions to direct, human understanding of customers and staff.

Pricing decisions against client risk

For pitching and pricing, Sharma returns to the client’s risks and the value of getting decisions right. Agencies should explain business impact, understand customer needs and show how work will be delivered within the client’s constraints. He recalls learning that a growing credentials deck could crowd out the client’s problems. Value pricing, he cautions, depends on what is being sold and how commoditised it is; costing a project and pricing it are different activities. Finally, he describes internal education and confidential Know Your Client conversations as ways to understand clients’ working lives, business models and pressures, making the consultancy’s work more informed.