The Product Triangle

The Triangle

Products are not just a function fitted inside a form. There are many thoughts going into every design and details, considering all the factors that influences the outcome.

For many product, as shown in the above image, are influenced by the 3 factors, function, human factor and emotion, when they are designed. And conventionally, specific types of product have their specific focus. Below are 3 example that, in my opinion, represent each category.

Function-Focused

One of the most common products in our daily life, paper. The most basic requirement would be that people can write or draw on it. Especially for many types of paper, there isn’t much consideration on aesthetics or human factor. They just need to be functional whether they are for writing, painting or crafting.

However, without compromising the function, shifting of the focus can sometimes bring creativeness into the product, expanding the market. For instance, decorative paper with nicely designed graphics are demarking themselves from plain ones as they focus more on the aesthetics. Extra values are added into the product.

 

Human-Factor-Focused

A pair of scissors as shown above is a example of a product influenced more by human factor. The form needs to be designed to suit the ergonomics of human. Is it easy to hold and cut? Can it be used by left-handed users as well? The dimension etc… In this case, the function is the scissors being able to cut while the form impacts largely on the user experience and even the functionality. Aesthetics is not a primary factor in the design.

 

Emotion-Focused

And lastly this  pendant lamp is more influenced by the emotion factor. The form is very elaborate and conveys the style of the designer. The light and shadow pattern created adds aesthetic value to it, making it unique and attractive.