Affordance



An affordance is the design aspect of an object which suggest how the object should be used; a visual clue to its function and use. Affordance is something of the actual and the perceived properties of the object. Gibson says that affordance is relation between the individual and the object he is interacting with. Thus affordance is quality of an object which allows it to have an action relationship with an actor. The actor has to discover the affordance between himself and the entities. Design should be such that the user feels that some interaction is possible. The user should find some logical action which should be performed with the object.

An object can have an affordance which is hidden. Symbolic communication is used to encourage users to understand the affordance. Affordance is not dependent on the culture, prior knowledge or expectation. Our brain works in such a manner that we always try to find the simplicity and put in the missing puzzles in any jigsaw puzzle. Affordance is our guiding path in how to interact with the object even if we are seeing the object for the first time. It gives us clues how we should operate the object even if we are seeing it for the first time.

We have to deal with the constraints and conventions while using affordances.
·        Physical Constraint: It is about relation of affordance with physical reality and the limitations
·        Logical Constraint: It is about the alternate options available.
·        Cultural Constraint: It is about what people will think and how they will behave.

We can create a good affordance by observing people. Data of people’s behavior should be collected to deal with all the conventions and building a design with good affordance. If we create a new affordance, people may take time to accept and understand it because of the social conventions.

We can put across a good design by keeping in mind the following criteria
·        We should never build a design which is violating the conventions
·        We can use words to explain the action or some convincing graphic or should highlight the object
·        We should keep it simple and clear. It is advisable to build the design upon some model.

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