An interactive element is a part of a product or application that is intentionally designed to cause the systems within a product or application to respond when an input, action or an external force is applied to that element.

Online, the most common interactive element (found on nearly every website) are hyper-text links which are usually underlined to denote that when clicked, a new page or a new website is displayed.

In the offline world, the on and off switch (or button) that causes an electronic system to start or stop, can be considered as interactive elements.

Examples of interactive elements found on desktop applications and websites:

• Buttons (including buttons that have an icon as an over-layed image)
• Scroll bars
• Scroll buttons
• Text input fields

Physical objects can have interactive elements:

• Buttons (Remote controls, electronics)
• Handles (Doors)
• Scroll wheels (ipods, electronics)
• Slider bars (Turn tables, Stereos, old analog tv tuners)
• Switches (Lights, electronics that can be switched on or off)
• Interactive surfaces that responds to human touch
• Proximity sensing devices that alerts someone who is standing at a certain distance from the sensor.

Interactive Elements and Interaction Design

In interaction design, operation of the interactive elements of a system causes a system to respond to an external action. Interaction design does not necessarily cause the handler or operator of a system to have an emotive reaction (or a change in their behavior) after performing an action on an interactive element of a system.

Interactive elements in fields related to interaction design:

When an interactive element is explicitly designed to cause an emotive response from its handler or operator (makes them happier or more attentive) after or while the system responds to an action on it's interactive elements; the type of design used is interaction design combined with (user) experience design. Example: Clicking on the correct answer to a question in an online exam, causes a sound clip of clapping hands to play to congratulate the user on entering the correct answer. The intention of the sound clip of the hands clapping is to cause the user to feel more confident and happy that they (the user) entered the correct answer.

If the interactive element creates an emotive response before human input is entered into the system, it is experience design but not necessarily interaction design as the user had an emotive reaction before the user input was entered and responded to.  Example: A candy colored handle bar on a door during christmas season may attract the attention of a shopper whose interested in looking for christmas items without the user using the door handle involves experience design but does not involve interaction design. How a door handle operates (does it twist or move similar to a lever) or what happens while the door handle is touched or moved involves interaction design.

Interaction design is specifically about planning system responses to user's (or user agent's) operation of a systems interactive elements.