Blog Post
PrzemysławHubis
Community Member
Base on what Dan Norman wrote in his book (The Design of Everyday Things) we have two terms that describe objects.
Affordances define what actions are possible (It is a relation between object and a person (user) so for example a chair affords (“is for”) support and, therefore, affords sitting.
On the other hand signifiers specify how people discover those possibilities: signifiers are signs, perceptible signals of what can be done (chair's flat surface and a back support). Therefore signifiers are far more importance to designers than are affordances.
Hope that adds a little bit of a background to the article.
Affordances define what actions are possible (It is a relation between object and a person (user) so for example a chair affords (“is for”) support and, therefore, affords sitting.
On the other hand signifiers specify how people discover those possibilities: signifiers are signs, perceptible signals of what can be done (chair's flat surface and a back support). Therefore signifiers are far more importance to designers than are affordances.
Hope that adds a little bit of a background to the article.
NicoleLegault1
6 years agoCommunity Member
Thanks for your comments Przemysław! :)