[IxDA Discuss] Affordances in interface design

[Mark Schraad]

I like to think of affordances as the space (or interaction) between  
technology and the user's goals - or the "pure" activity. If I want  
to make a traditional transaction with my credit card, the anding of  
my card to the teller - and the showing of my ID are affordances. If  
I make an online transactions I need to type in the number - and  
include the expirations date and three digit code (or a PIN). The  
affordances change with the enabling technology.

Anytime you change the mechanism to accomplish a goal or complete an  
activity (most innovation) you will have a learning curve that  
correlates to the level of change. Emulating the previous technology  
can help the transition, but often times becomes cumbersome and  
eliminates the economies gained with the new technology. Sometimes  
innovation for a better process requires a (harsh) change. There are  
lots of options for aiding the user through this transition.

No simple recipe here... but it sound like a great project.

Mark


On Mar 6, 2007, at 7:29 PM, Cecily Walker wrote:

> My question is this - does anyone have any resources that talk about
> affordances in application design? If you don't have any resources,
> I'll take opinions: how important is it that a  "Create Invoice"
> screen resemble a paper invoice? How important is it that a payments
> screen looks like a check?