Communication theory: Lumenora
Communication theory in the field of design
The logo Lumenora
Communication theory studies the processes of creating, transmitting, and interpreting messages between participants in interaction. During the course, communication was considered as a procedural and contextually determined phenomenon in which meaning is not transmitted directly, but is formed during interpretation.
This approach allows us to consider interior design as a form of spatial communication in which the interior acts as a mediator between a person and the environment.
The interior space is not neutral: it organizes behavior, sets usage scenarios, and forms emotional and symbolic meanings. Layout, light, color, materials, and subject matter can be considered as elements of a message that are perceived and interpreted by users of the space.
To answer this, we turn to communication theory. An analysis allows us to select the most relevant approaches and discard outdated ones, forming a strategic toolkit for design branding.
Objective theories and their applicability in interior design
Objective communication theories focused on cause-and-effect relationships and predictable behavior find application in functional aspects of interior design. The cybernetic tradition, which focuses on channel, noise, and feedback, can be used in the design of navigation, zoning, and lighting. A clear organization of the space reduces the likelihood of communication failures, such as disorientation or misuse of the area.
The socio-psychological approach is also applicable to interior design, especially in public and work spaces. Certain spatial solutions can stimulate or, conversely, restrain interaction between people, which makes it possible to predict types of behavior in a given environment. However, these approaches are limited because they do not take into account individual and cultural differences in the perception of space.
Interpretive theories and their significance for interior analysis
Interpretive communication theories are more relevant for the analysis of interior design, as they recognize the multiplicity of interpretations and the dependence of meaning on context. The semiotic tradition allows us to consider the interior as a system of signs, where materials, color schemes and stylistic elements carry symbolic meanings. For example, the use of natural materials can be interpreted as striving for environmental friendliness or authenticity, but these meanings are not universal and depend on the user’s cultural environment. The sociocultural tradition complements this analysis by considering the interior as a space of reproduction of social practices. The interior reflects ideas about status, privacy, comfort, and normality specific to a particular society. In residential interiors, this is manifested through the organization of personal and shared space, and in public spaces through the distribution of roles and forms of interaction.Lamp prototypes
A Critical perspective in interior design
The critical tradition of communication allows us to consider interior design from the point of view of power and ideology. Spatial solutions can include or exclude certain user groups, set norms of behavior, and consolidate social hierarchies. For example, the layout of an office space can promote both horizontal interaction and increased hierarchy between employees. In this case, the designer acts not only as a designer of the form, but also as a participant in the process of forming a social experience.The analysis of communication theory shows that interior design can be considered as a form of communication in which space functions as a carrier of meanings. Objective theories are useful in solving functional problems related to the organization and clarity of space, but they do not cover the entire complexity of interior perception. Interpretive approaches, including semiotic and sociocultural traditions, provide more adequate tools for analyzing the meanings and meanings formed by interior design. A critical perspective complements this analysis, allowing for consideration of the social and ideological implications of design decisions.
Business Card Lumenora
Presentation for a general audience
Nice to meet you!
Lumenora is a brand of personalized chandeliers that bring your ideas about a unique and individual space to life.
We feel that in the era of mass media, the desire to express oneself and one’s individuality is especially strong. Lumenora supports this aspiration and creates designer lamps with removable shades. Create your space with the help of light.
Lumenora posters
Accessories are made to order
Each product is the result of an individual idea. We create lampshades that can be removed and changed, rearranged, changing the atmosphere depending on the mood.Add extra volume to your space
It’s no secret that light can greatly change the feeling of space. Due to the interesting patterns on the lampshade, create your own drawing inside the space and make the place truly comfortable and cozy. And the play of light and shadow will add an additional layer of meaning to the interior.Environmental friendliness
The eye usually gets used to decorative items pretty quickly and no longer notices them, even if they are interesting. Mass-produced lamps are not amenable to eco-friendly renovation, but this will not happen with Lumenora lamps. It is enough to change the lampshade to make the space sparkle with new colors and come to life again.Thus, the accessory becomes not just an interior decoration — it becomes a personal tool for expressing oneself and one’s views, which no one else has.
Create!
You can choose the size of the lampshade, its color, and its shape for the lampshade. Also, according to your idea or sketch, unique slots can be made in the ceiling, through which rays of light will pass and illuminate the space. Send us a photo of the space, a sketch of the lamp, or just tell us the idea in words — and our designers will create a prototype according to which your personal chandelier will be created manually.
Don’t be afraid to stand out and be visible to this world, and Lumenora chandeliers will illuminate this path for you.
Presentation for a professional audience
We feel that in the era of mass media, the desire to express oneself and one’s individuality is especially strong. Lumenora supports this aspiration and creates designer lamps with removable shades. Create your space with the help of light.
Lumenora is a tool for those who work with light as a full-fledged expressive material.
Our lamps with removable shades are designed for architects, interior designers, decorators and studios who design a space as a complete system and need flexible, visually expressive solutions.
Oversize t-shirt Lumenora
Light as part of the architectural language
Lumenora lamps perform not only a decorative function — they allow you to work with the volume, depth and emotional atmosphere of the space.Lampshades form a complex play of light and shadow, giving the room additional details without changing the basic infrastructure.
Do you need soft ambient lighting for the living room, a graphic shadow for the art space, or an accent light in the reception area? Lumenora allows you to customize the appearance of the lamp without changing the entire lighting system.
If you need a lamp that supports the concept of the project, rather than arguing with it, then we are ready to develop it together with you.
Customization for the task
Flexibility is especially important for professional practice, so Lumenora models can easily adapt to the requirements of the project. We can change the size of the lampshade, choose the right type of light, develop a unique pattern of slots and choose materials that harmoniously fit into the concept of space — all in order for the lamp to become an exact continuation of your idea.According to your sketch or technical specification, we create a prototype, which becomes the basis for the final product. This approach allows Lumenora to be used in projects of any complexity, from apartments and offices to art spaces and indoor public areas.
Production control and replication
Lumenora lampshades are handmade, but we work according to the principles of industrial prototyping. First, we develop a 3D model and check the lighting scenarios, then we create a test sample, make adjustments based on the comments of a specialist, and only after that we proceed to final production.This approach allows you to safely integrate the fixtures into professional projects with tight deadlines and high demands on the result.
Mobile and desktop posters Lumenora
Flexibility for dynamic spaces
Modern interiors live on: functions, people/visitors, and surroundings change in them. Mass—produced lamps are difficult to update — more often they are simply dismantled and thrown away.With Lumenora, everything is different: it’s enough to change the lampshade to make the space sound in a new way. This is especially important for those who work with showrooms, offices, coworking spaces, studios, and exhibition projects. The interior may change, but the basic lighting system will remain the same. That is, you just change the «clothes» for the light.
A reliable partner for project work
We are used to thinking not only about beauty, but also about the process. For professionals, timing, predictability, and the ability to control the outcome are important.Based on your sketches, references, or description, we create a prototype lampshade, coordinate the light pattern, and only then proceed to the final product. So the lamp in reality is as close as possible to what you put in the visualization and concept of the project.
Communication theory as basis for the presentations
In today’s saturated market, consumers increasingly seek to express their individuality through their surroundings, particularly in interior and product design. The modern customer is no longer a passive buyer but an active participant who desires to be a co-author, investing personal ideas into the creation of unique objects. This presents brands with a complex challenge: it is insufficient to offer a beautiful, high-quality product. A brand must engineer a communication process that transforms a simple purchase into an act of joint creativity and the product into a part of the client’s personal narrative.
Lumenora, a brand crafting personalized lighting, operates in this very niche. In a world where terms like «unique» and «sustainable» are rapidly diluted through overuse, the central question emerges: how can a brand build client communication that is not mere advertising, but a genuine dialogue, where a lamp becomes not a commodity but a chapter in the client’s own story?
To answer this, we turn to communication theory. An analysis allows us to select the most relevant approaches and discard outdated ones, forming a strategic toolkit for design branding.
The core of our communication model will be constituted by theories emphasizing the co-creation of meaning and dialogic interaction, primarily from the socio-cultural and rhetorical traditions:
✤ The Socio-Cultural Tradition & The Constitutive Approach: These frameworks posit that communication is not the linear transmission of information but the very process through which shared social reality and meaning are produced. For Lumenora, this is foundational. Each lamp is not an object but a materialized message created in the ongoing dialogue between brand and client. The brand’s task is to make this process of co-creation explicit and valuable, ensuring the final product is perceived as an artifact saturated with personal significance, thereby helping to «define and negotiate» the client’s relational environment (as per IPC definitions).
✤ The Narrative Paradigm (Walter Fisher): This paradigm holds that humans are storytelling animals (homo narrans) who comprehend and evaluate the world through stories, not just logical arguments. Therefore, Lumenora’s communication must be built on compelling narratives, not specifications. The story of the client’s inspiration, the narrative of translating a sketch into reality, the testimonial of how the light transformed a living space—these are the core messages. These stories must adhere to narrative rationality, judged by their internal consistency (narrative coherence) and their resonance with the audience’s values and experiences (narrative fidelity).
✤ Social Exchange Theory (SET) & Equity Theory: These theories, falling under the socio-psychological tradition, explain that all relationships are governed by a subconscious calculus of rewards and costs. Commissioning a custom lamp involves client investments (costs): money, time, emotional capital, and creative ideas. The brand must make the rewards overwhelmingly clear: a unique artifact, the status of co-creator, and the emotional gratification of realized creativity. Furthermore, Equity Theory reminds us to maintain a perceived balance; the client must feel their contribution is fairly valued and reciprocated, preventing the distress of being under- or over-benefited.
Oversize t-shirt and Lumenora poster on the street
✤ Dialogic Theory in Public Relations (Two-Way Symmetrical Model): This approach argues that the strongest relationships are built on mutual, honest dialogue, not brand monologue. For Lumenora, this means institutionalizing feedback loops: humanized, prompt responses, involving the client in process discussions, and maintaining transparency—even about challenges. This transforms a transactional exchange into a long-term relationship, building trust through consistent communication.
✤ The Concept of Affordances (from Media Ecology & Human-Computer Interaction): The brand’s digital platforms (website, social media) are not showrooms but toolkits for action. Every interface element must offer intuitive possibilities for action: a lamp configurator, a live chat with a designer, a «share your sketch» button, a gallery of completed projects with client stories. The goal is to provide maximum affordances for co-creation, shaping the user’s experience and enabling the desired collaborative behavior.
✤ Uses and Gratifications Theory (U& G): This theory posits that the audience is active and selects media to satisfy specific needs. Lumenora’s content strategy must therefore answer not «what do we want to sell?» but «what does our client seek?» This could include needs for diversion (aesthetic inspiration), personal identity (affirmation of one’s taste), surveillance (trends in interior design), or social interaction (belonging to a community of creators). Content should be crafted to provide these gratifications.
Consciously Rejected Theories:
We explicitly reject models that assume a passive, heterogeneous audience, such as the Hypodermic Needle/Magic Bullet Theory or simple linear transmission models. As the evolution of media effects theories demonstrates, the consensus has shifted towards recognizing an active, selective audience (as evidenced by Selective Exposure Theory and Uses and Gratifications). The Lumenora client is not a target but a full participant in a dialogic process, especially in a taste-driven field like design.The fundamental problem for many personalized design brands is fragmented communication. Lumenora does not need an advertising campaign but a holistic, multi-layered communication ecosystem based on dialogue and co-creation.
Our proposed model operates on three interconnected levels:
✤ The Meaning Layer (Constitutive + Narrative): To construct the value of uniqueness through the joint creation of meaning and compelling personal stories.
✤ The Relational Layer (Dialogic PR + Social Exchange): To build long-term, trusting, and mutually beneficial relationships at all touchpoints—from initial inquiry to post-purchase engagement.
✤ The Digital Layer (Affordances + Uses & Gratifications): To create an intuitive and inspiring digital environment that technically facilitates co-creation and satisfies the audience’s deeper needs for self-expression and community.
The logo Lumenora
«Communication Theory: Bridging Academia and Practice» online-course
Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (Eds.). (2009). Encyclopedia of communication theory (Vol. 1). Sage.
Aakhus, M. (2007). Communication as design. Communication Monographs, 74(1), 112-117.
Mortensen, C. D. (Ed.). (2017). Communication theory. Routledge.
Chitode, J. S. (2021). Communication theory. Technical Publications.
«Lumenora» // Portfolio HSE // URL: https://portfolio.hse.ru/Project/257284# (Дата обращения: 04.12.2025)
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