affordance
noun

- the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used

- a use or purpose that a thing can have, that people notice as part of the way they see or experience it

Merriam-Webster / Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word “affordance” was coined in 1977 by psychologist James J. Gibson and then popularised in 1988 by Donald Norman in his book "The Design of Everyday Things”. Norman uses examples of doors, buttons, switches and other everyday objects to illustrate cases of good and bad affordances in design.

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APPLE’S SECRET

Apple products have a knack for feeling intuitively easy to use, even when unveiling entirely new device categories. This seemingly magical user-friendliness stems from Apple's mastery of "affordances" — design cues that suggest how people can physically interact with a product.

Unlike buttons that require deciphering symbols or functions, well-designed affordances leverage existing cultural metaphors to make interactions self-evident. Though not always first to market, Apple excels at affordance design.

The original Macintosh popularized folder icons and trash bins to manage desktop files. The iPod's click wheel borrowed a DJ turntable metaphor to thumb through songs. The iPhone ditched number pads for a full-touch multimedia window, kept familiar with its home button anchor.

Apple Watch's versatile, yet classic-feeling winding crown achieves similar intuition. These affordances don't just facilitate use - they collapse complex digital interactions into tangible, physical gestures people intuitively grasp.

Affordances can be subtle too, like softly squeezing the stem of AirPod Pros — pinch this section, and noise cancellation activates, almost like manually closing a physical barrier over your ears. It's a deeply satisfying interaction blending affordance with metaphor.

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SYNONYMS

action possibility, AFFORDANCE, amenability, capability, convenience, doors opening, ease of access (of use), efficacy, effectiveness, effectuality, effortlessness, enablement, facilitation, handiness, instrumentality, operability, practicality, responsiveness, straightforwardness, usableness, use, usefulness, utility, wieldiness

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation, say something like:

“Having limited manual dexterity, I really appreciate door handles designed with good AFFORDANCE.”

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