Basic Elements in Interactive and Product Design Unearthed

Being an interdisciplinary major with interests in interactive design and product I've chosen examples across these areas to illustrate three examples of the basic elements discussed by Dondis.


This is a multi-touch interactive display made for OTICON by WHITEvoid interactive art and design. There are many basic elements active in this display. The most apparent are the bubbles which contain icons, representing various things, which can be dragged into the yellow containers to produce written information about a subject. The bubbles, which are 2D circles made to appear 3 dimensional with the use of tone, are essentially dots when perceived from far away. Here the dots create space and dimension within the display using size, shape and tone. This makes them effective as pointers within this informational system, as well as leading the eye and maintaining interest in the display.


Here we have a lamp which sits on the floor made by designer Albertine van Iterson. What I find particularly active in this floor lamps design are its lines. Its lines, angled at about 30 degrees from the floor and arranged in a cone shape, give it a dynamic appearance, as if light was shooting out of it. It reminds me of an old gramophone cone, which was used to amplify sound before speakers were invented. Ironically, the lamp doesn't seem to produce much light, but I thought it was an excellent example of what lines can communicate, even if they can't deliver.


Lastly I chose a classic flashlight. Not sure of who made this, they were pretty common and are an iconic shape for the object. What I find particularly active about this design is its shape, specifically, how it may communicate something about its use. Essentially, with this flashlight, we have a succession of four circles connected by lines (thinking in AutoCad terms); two larger circles make up the lens housing and two smaller circles make up the handle. Of course it may be hard to visualize the circles from this picture, however the highlighted and darkened tones on the handle implies the cylindrical shape. The circle is suppose to be associated with warmth, endlessness and protection. I find it interesting, the idea, that an object, whose primarily made up of circles, may in some way communicate protection. Especially in this case, where the object may allow you vision through a dark room, the night, or especially, through a pitch black room filled with cacti and modern furniture.