Affordance

Every single day, we push buttons, pull handles and sit on chairs without thinking twice. This is affordance - how an object’s design suggests how we interact with it.

Think of a really hot mug of tea. The mug intuitively invites you to grab the handle and avoid burning your hand. The mug in this instance induces an action, known as an affordance.

Affordances create intuitive user interactions. If something is designed efficiently then people can interact with it easily - without cognitive effort, or burning their hands. But affordances don’t work alone. Some affordances use signifiers - visual cues, like arrows, labels or lights - to help reinforce what action is expected of the user.

Like a big red button saying “Do not press”, or the “Drink me” potion bottle in Alice and Wonderland. Good design doesn’t demand attention - it gets out of peoples way - and allows them to do what they need to do without even thinking about it.