Affordances

  • An affordance is some characteristic of an object that communicates how it is to be operated.

    A keyhole in a lock tells me that I need a key and where to insert it. A handle on a fridge tells me how to pull it. A bottlecap on a bottle of beer tells me something. But does it tell me to use a bottle opener or just unscrew it?

    With this context, look around your daily world (room, office, campus) for affordances everywere. Find and photograph a few examples where (visible) affordances were absent, or communicated the wrong thing. Deliverable: Post your photos to Piazza with commentary.