A VALIDATION CASE STUDY IN AFFORDANCE BASED DESIGN (original) (raw)

Affordance-based design methods for innovative design, redesign and reverse engineering

Research in Engineering Design, 2009

Rather than developing methods to address problems as they occur, the effort in this paper is to formulate methods based on an explicit theory. Methods developed in this way have more scientific rigor because underlying propositions and assumptions are clearly articulated, thus the applicability and limitations of the methods are well defined. The underlying theory used in this work is that of affordance-based design, which has been developed by the authors in a recent series of papers, and is based in turn on the theory of affordances from perceptual psychology. This paper extends affordance-based design into prescriptive methods. A broad affordance-based design process is introduced together with methods for documenting affordances, methods for designing individual affordances, an affordance-based method for reverse engineering and redesign, the affordance structure matrix, and affordance-based selection matrices. Engineering examples used to illustrate the methods include the high level design of an automobile, comfort to automobile passengers, the meshing of gears, wear of gears, a vacuum cleaner, and automotive window switches.

Affordance-Based Design: Status and Promise

2006

Following the early work of Simon and the thorough treatment of functional methods in design covered by Pahl and Beitz, most subsequent design researchers have used the functional formalism and developed design aids using this formalism. We have also done the same. However, there is increasing awareness among the design research community of some fundamental limitations of the concept of function, that leads to some difficulties in practice.

Affordance based design: a relational theory for design

Research in Engineering Design, 2009

After reviewing current approaches to design theory, which are based on the transformative concept of function, we argue that this basis in function limits the scope of design problems and explanatory power of current design theories. As an alternative with greater potential for explanatory power and a framework for solving a wider array of design problems, we propose that a relational theory of design is needed. Such a relational theory should mirror those currently developed in mathematics, physics, computer science, and even philosophy. We develop a relational theory for design based on the concept of affordances from perceptual psychology. Affordances help to explain the entanglement between designers, users, and artifacts—relationships that are not currently handled by function based approaches to design. Affordance based design, as developed in this paper, does not offer a radical new approach to doing design, but rather a shift in design thinking. Our focus in this paper is therefore on the explanatory power and potential innovation fostered by this change in design thinking, as illustrated through several examples, and not on specific methods.

A Review of Affordances and Affordance-Based Design to Address Usability

Proceedings of the ... International Conference on Engineering Design, 2019

Maier and Fadel pioneered Affordance-Based Design (ABD) based on Gibson's revolutionary theory of affordances and Norman's deployment of the concept in his book, "The Design of Everyday Things". Gibson (1979) introduced the affordance concept into the discipline of Ecological Psychology to address the interactions between an object and an agent. The Ecological approach includes the direct perception of affordances for the user along with a consideration of the users' biomechanics. However, as the concept of affordance was imported and utilized in different disciplines, including engineering design, some important aspects of Ecological theory were omitted. This paper is an attempt to review the definitions and different utilizations of the affordance concept focusing on the design of usable products to identify the different views and the missing elements. After addressing the divergent viewpoints of affordances, we provide recommendations to improve the usability aspects in ABD by considering direct perception and ergonomics. We claim that a design (based on affordances) that fails to address both criteria may result in a product that is less usable.

Towards a Formalization of Affordance Modeling in the Early Stages of Design

When developing an artifact, designers must first capture and represent consumer needs. These needs can then be transformed into system requirements or objectives. This paper proposes a formalized affordance-based method for capturing consumer needs which leverages previous work in the area of Affordance-based design. The creation of an affordance basis and a relational structure (the Desired Affordance Model) facilitates the use of affordances to represent consumer needs. This formalization has the potential to improve model quality and consistency, while managing model creation time. Further, this formalization imposes a level of abstraction which forces solution independence but is capable of capturing the large range of consumer needs.

The use and misuse of the concept of affordance

6th International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC'14)

Given the lack of agreement on the phenomenological elements of affordance, it is difficult to conduct empirical research to test systematic observations across contexts (e.g., industrial design and interaction design). To address this problem, this paper aims to establish a new understanding of the concept of affordance and its key concepts. Through a critical review of influential articles about affordance, the article identifies some uses and misuses of the concept. Then, a definition of affordance is provided, which delineates its foundational elements. Based on the definition, the article proposes a framework to explain how artefacts acquire affordances through the intentional behaviour of designers, certain material features, and contextual constructions. As a result, this research will contribute a new perspective on affordances that may help designers have predictable control over them when designing end-consumer products.

Affordances and use plans: An analysis of two alternatives to function-based design

Function-based design approaches have been criticized for being too narrow to properly guide design. Specifically, they are said to be unable to cope with nonfunctional considerations, such as cost or maintenance issues without invoking other concepts, such as constraints. This paper investigates two alternative conceptualizations of the design process: the practical affordance-based design approach, as elaborated by Maier and Fadel, and the more theoretical use plan approach by Houkes and Vermaas. This paper compares function-, affordance-, and use plan-based design approaches. It highlights strengths and weaknesses of each approach and proposes a definition of the function of an artifact in terms of its affordances.

The Application of the Concept of Affordance to a Creative Design Method

This research integrated ideas regarding affordance into a method for creative design, including five major steps: 1) Observe behavior; 2) Note down events happening or issues; 3) Figure out pattern; 4) Obtain messages of behavior perception; and 5) Reinforce message and naming. In this research, an "Another Hand" plate was designed to demonstrate the applicability of this method. In the application process, first, the researchers observe the dining environment, and discovered that it was difficult for people to scoop up the last few bits of food on the plate; therefore, they need the aid of extra tableware to finish their food. Then, observing users, we discovered that the spoon might turn around the plate. Next, we transform the idea into the design of the wedge to stop the food from moving. So the diner can finish the last bits of food using a natural eating motion. Lastly, with "Another Hand" plate as an example, we observed the process of 10 people eating with this plate. It was discovered that users could use this wedge to help scoop the food at 64.2% of the dining time. Hence, this invention won the final list design award of I.D.E.A. held in the USA in 2008. This research intends to review and revise this design method for better design for the reference of other inventors.