TEXTDATA:Throughout The Psychology of Everyday Things, I used the term affordances. In fact, this usage has caught on and it╒s now being used widely in the design community. But you know, I didn╒t do it quite right.┬
The affordance of an object is something that really can╒t be changed. A book can be thrown at you. You can hide behind it or you can even read it. That affordance is something that comes with the physical properties of both the book and of me. There is nothing a designer can do about it.┬
So when I talk about affordances, I should really be talking about perceived affordances. Can this door be opened? Can this button be pushed? Can this part of the screen be clicked and have it expand and do something different? What is important is what is perceptible. What you perceive the affordances to be, because if you don╒t perceive them, you won╒t try the operation.┬
So whenever you see the word affordance in any of these books, you should really think perceived affordance.
