• A shutter effect on a digital camera
• Wood grain on radios, lawn chair arms, and automobiles
• Lights shaped like candles
• Shopping cart icons on ecommerce web site
• The reel-to-reel tape machine icon used on cell phones to indicate a voice mail message

I can’t find a good definition for “vernacular design” – where the visual of the form echoes something literal about the product’s meaning or use (Oracle’s database-symbol HQ; the printer feed tray that looks like the sheet-of-paper icon)..anyone?

(thanks, ebacon)