Misleading Design Implications of Adopting Embodied Interface in Everyday Objects

What happens when an object is consciously designed not to suggest how to interact with it explicitly? This research theme is controversial and peculiar. It is rooted in the concepts of agency and affordance of objects and their interfaces, proposing a change of perspective. Rather than conceiving functions clearly expressing themselves, embedded technology allows an extension of the possible levels of manipulation on seemingly silent objects. This implies a semantic reconfiguration that begins with aesthetics and impacts interaction. Operating at the level of attribution of meaning, these objects challenge the ecological approach, resulting in a misleading design. The topic is tackled from the point of view of the communication designer and design researcher who look at the design of interaction and interface. The study relies on the lessons learnt and knowledge from a five-year-long research-through-design experimentation, triangulated with evidence emerging from the analysis on five relevant cases.