affordance

American  

[uh-fawr-duhns] / əˈfɔr dəns /

noun

1. a feature of an object or environment that prompts or promotes a specific use or interaction, especially one easily perceivable to the user, as a doorknob.

   The indentations on a bar of chocolate are an affordance that makes use of our common knowledge that the thinnest parts of something are the most breakable.

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Etymology

Origin of affordance

First recorded in 1875–80 in the sense “amount one can afford to pay”; current sense dates from 1965–70; afford ( def. ) + -ance ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affordance

“More technology leads to more user affordance, leads to better expressivity for the user, and will demand more of us, technically.”

From The Verge ● Sep. 29, 2021

Embeddables will be sitting so close to us that the right balance between unobtrusiveness and affordance will have to be found.

From Forbes ● Mar. 31, 2014

Gibson’s affordance — here’s a good examination – and Donald Norman’s perceived affordance, but I’ll spare us that.

From Forbes ● Mar. 30, 2014

The click wheel is overdesigned in the best way: For most operations, it demands only a single thumb, guided into loops and clicks with effortless affordance.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2011

Thus many designers reflect concern for an individualized approach to the understanding of affordance possibilities.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai