Properties, Affordances, and Signifiers
Properties
- property
An attribute, quality, or characteristic of something.
- Examples:
weight, materials, colors, shapes, etc.
Signifiers
- signifier
Any perceivable indicator – usually one or more properties – that communicates appropriate behavior to a user.
- Examples:
buttons, icons, labels, colors, shapes, etc.
Affordances
- affordance
An action possibility – a relationship between the properties of an object or system and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object or system could possibly be used.
- Examples:
holding, pressing, etc.
Systems
Systems usually have more affordances.
- Examples:
navigating menus, browsing media, playing media, etc.
Design Fails
- anti-affordance
A relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that can result in the prevention of interaction.
- design fail
A design that is low value or that destroys value.
What makes a signifier?
You should always be able to relate a signifier to either an affordance or anti-affordance describing an action possibility (or lack thereof), but not both at the same time for a specific action possibility.
What makes an affordance?
An affordance should always describe an action possibility that involves or is between a user and an object or system.
- Gerunds:
When describing the affordances of a system, try to use an affordance’s “ing” noun (or gerund) as the direct object of “affords.”
- Examples:
affords pushing, affords protecting (not protection)