Emotions behind a Sphere. Experimentations for an Interactive Object Communicating Brand Values and Encouraging Behavioural Changes (or Reactions).

The line separating visual designer and developer appears to be blurring, and this is not limited to the screen or projected image (Reas, McWilliams and Barendse, 2010). It also affects the design of physical spaces and the empiric field. The increasing accessibility to open technologies allows visual designers to conceptualize and practice new processes and results in the representation of organizations' values and in the design of points of contact. An experimental project (developed during the third year of the Bachelor in Communication Design) gives rise to a discussion of changes in the fields of Communication, Interaction and Experience Design. The brief was to design visual identities, programming and using open source codes and hardware like Arduino, in order to communicate intangible brand values through an interactive and multisensorial experience in a physical space. This brief led some student groups to design objects that act. One of those results is a communicative machine named Phos Light Experience. In order to comprehend the actual interaction with the object persona (Cila et al., 2015), the prototype was tested by real potential users, employing specific sensors to collect biometric data. In addition to the predicted results, unexpected forms of relationship and use emerged, generating new levels of discussion.