“…the term affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used. […] Affordances provide strong clues to the operations of things. Plates are for pushing. Knobs are for turning. Slots are for inserting things into. Balls are for throwing or bouncing. When affordances are taken advantage of, the user knows what to do just by looking: no picture, label, or instruction needed.” (Don Norman, The Psychology of Everyday Things, 1988, p.9)
Types of affordances in digital artifacts (among many types):
- Interactive / Interface
- Narrative
- Aesthetic
- Ludic (play)
- Functional
- Social
- Experiential
Examples – Identifying Affordances in Digital Applications –