THE BASIC ELEMENTS: Tea Kettles

Color 

Figure 1. The Alessi Signature Kettle with Bird Whistle by Michael Graves, 1985

This innovative design by Michael Graves redefined how individuals interacted with tea kettles. Graves managed to transcend tea kettles not only into a new form, but was amongst the first to integrate color. In the Alessi Signature Kettle Bird Whistle, Graves added two small hints of color in contrast to the stainless steel body-- a blue handle and a red spout.  Graves not only integrates these color elements for aesthetic purposes, but uses them as a way to visually communicate the areas in which the tea kettle is hot (red) and cold (blue).  By choosing unsaturated colors, Grave manages to still push his message across to the user while keeping the design elegant and timeless. 

Movement 

Figure 2. The Oggi Zephyr tea kettle gives of a sense of efficiency through its implied movement. 

As one of the most dominant visual forces in the human experience, the designers of the Oggi Zephyr kettle took advantage of that dominance. This particular tea kettle is crafted with an organic shape that appears to follow a diagonal directional line, giving the product that illusion of movement. It is through the use of these so-called angles-- as seen in the directionality of the spout and the handle doing in opposite directions for one another-- that the designers at Oggi managed to make this basic element quite visible in this product. 

Shape 

Figure 3. Il Conico Tea Kettle, Designed by Aldo Rossi for Alessi 

While most conventional tea kettles maintain a more organic and circular shape, this design by Aldo Rossi features to product in a very geometrical shape-- a triangle. Not only is the visual effect of this powerful because it is attributed as being different, but it is additionally successful due to the clever repetition of the triangular shape throughout the product. The shape is not only that of the overall body of the kettle but it is also found in the spout and the handle. Rossi's choice of a triangular shape additionally fits with this given product because according to Dondis, "the triangle [signifies] action, conflict, and tension".  This visual symbolism also applies to the function of the product-- the pressure of the water builds in this enclosed area to get it to boil-- making the association stronger. 

Works Cited
Bird Whistle by Michael Graves. N.d. Photograph. Alessi. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. <http://www.alessi.com/>.
Il Conico. N.d. Photograph. Alessi. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. <http://www.alessi.com/>.
Oggi Zephyr. N.d. Photograph. Oggi Products. Web. 8 Nov. 2012. <http://www.oggicorporation.com/>.