AFFORDANCE-BASED EVALUATION OF SIGNAGE DESIGN FOR AREAS OF REFUGE (original) (raw)
An affordance-based approach to architectural theory, design, and practice
Design Studies, 2009
The idea of affordance, borrowed from perceptual psychology, is applied to the domain of architecture. As to architectural theory, affordances can be used as a conceptual framework to understand the relationship between environments and occupants, especially with respect to form and function. Regarding architectural design, the concept of affordance allows for a common theoretical basis to improve the design process. Concerning architectural practice, affordances can be used as a tool to explore the connection between the intentions of the design with how the artifact is actually used, leading to archived knowledge, and the potential for avoiding common design failures.
Design Computing and Cognition ’06, 2006
The notion of affordances has been used to represent functionality and usability in several design areas. The paper considers its applicability to architecture and buildings. It discusses a distinction between the affordances of building elements and spaces, and a number of dimensions for the mapping of different aspects.
Qualitative Assessment of Usability and Accessibility of Housing Design Elements for Disabled People
PLANNING MALAYSIA JOURNAL, 2022
Accessibility has become a challenge in today's societies where everyone has equal rights to live in a barrier-free and accessible environment. A previous study indicated that those living in high-rise residences have limited access to facilities for the disabled that are provided in accordance to the Garis Panduan Reka Bentuk Sejagat (Universal Design). This paper aimed to determine the level of accessibility of selected six (6) design elements such as the ramp, stairs, main entrance, the lift, handrails, and parking space and the usefulness of legislation and standards in PPR Pekan Batu, Kuala Lumpur. Qualitative assessments were applied for the study using content analysis of planning guidelines and site observation. The results demonstrated that the efficiency of legislation and standards was a factor in the accessibility and usability of housing design elements for PWDs. Three (3) design elements-the stair, parking space, and main entrance, had recorded the lowest compliance scores compared to another two (2) elements-ramps and handrails, which recorded the second lowest compliance score. Meanwhile, the lift was recorded as the most compliant element based on its accessibility. The outcome of this study implied that different types of disabilities require varied housing accessibility requirements. This study improves accessible design elements for the disabled, resulting in a better environment.
Social affordances and architectural design - a case study of a central stairway
2024
In this paper, we offer arguments for the relevance and usefulness of applying a psychological affordance perspective to social interaction in the built environment. Our empirical focus is on building elements where the intention of the architectural design is better to foster social coordination and interaction between building users. We illustrate how the concept of social affordances relates to such social activities through scrutinizing a special designed central stairway architectural element in a building housing the Ørestad College in Copenhagen, Denmark. We take a qualitative approach using observational study techniques using video recordings of the everyday use the stairway at the college. Through our analysis we identify eight types of social interactions, which we distilled into four categories of social activities afforded by the lays-out of the stairway and its surroundings; social walking, social spotting, social waiting and social encountering. We discuss our findings both theoretically and in relation to architectural practice and we conclude that the concept of social affordances would be of great use and value for research and practice in architectural design. Moreover, the findings presented in this paper have potential theoretical implications related to the coupling between the concept of affordances on one hand and social interactions on the other, a coupling that is shown to be relevant not only theoretically, but also through its empirical application.
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.
Use of Affordances in Cognitive Modeling for Wayfinding
THE COGNITIVE …, 2006
Abstract. The CADMUS system produces maps of perceived difficulties of displacements in complex buildings, for people without disability or for those suffering a physical or perceptive disability. Using a numerical model of the environment as a foundation and a descriptive ...
Affordances and the Potential for Architecture
2020
Introduction: Designing Affordances for the Living-Lived Body? Andrea Jelić such connectedness between the inhabitant and the space is a prime characteristics of what means to dwell and to be in the world. Secondly, the notion of affordances-with its origin in ecological psychology, but readily taken within other fields such as neuroscience-shows a promise of a shared vocabulary that can ease the bridging between architecture and cognitive science disciplines, and thereby, possibly provide a way to operationalize the investigation of architecture-body relationship. Several illustrative examples of this dialogue readily spring to mind, including the 'End of Sitting' (figure 1.1) and 'Hardcore Heritage' design projects by RAAAF, informed and shaped by ecological-enactive cognition framework (Rietveld & Rietveld, 2017; Rietveld, Rietveld, Mackic, Waalwijk Van Doorn, & Bervoets, 2015); a set of empirical studies by ecological psychologists exploring children's perception and engagement with play affordances based on well-known Aldo van Eyck's playgrounds (Withagen & Caljouw, 2017); or a recent neuroscientific study of sensorimotor brain dynamics in relation to architectural affordances (Djebbara, Fich, Petrini, & Gramann, 2019). Taken in sum, these three essays clearly indicate the value of considering the concept of affordances in the context of architecture, and provide a valuable contribution to this discussion of how to conceive, think, and design the inherent coupling between the human organism and the environment.
Affordances: Clarifying and evolving a concept
2000
The concept of affordance is popular in the HCI community but not well understood. Donald Norman appropriated the concept of affordances from James J. Gibson for the design of common objects and both implicitly and explicitly adjusted the meaning given by Gibson. There was, however, ambiguity in Norman's original definition and use of affordances which he has subsequently made efforts to clarify. His definition germinated quickly and through a review of the HCI literature we show that this ambiguity has lead to widely varying uses of the concept. Norman has recently acknowledged the ambiguity, however, important clarifications remain. Using affordances as a basis, we elucidate the role of the designer and the distinction between usefulness and usability. We expand Gibson's definition into a framework for design.
Affordance-based Design Method: A Case Study of University Campus
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Development of a built environment encompasses urban design, land use, transportation system, and accommodates patterns of human activity within the physical environment. Holistic development of built environment requires a multidisciplinary design team of urban planners, architects and sustainability advisors from an early design stage. Literature and industry-practices show growth of designer’s techniques and competencies, sustainable development capabilities, and user-centric prospective in the early design. However, there is a lack of systematic method and all-inclusive approach to design a built environment. Thus, proposed research aims to develop a design method which is user-inspired, stakeholder conducive and environmentally conscious from an early design stage. To achieve this aim, an affordance-based design method is proposed and demonstrated through a case study of university campus. Affordance-based design method has been used for design of complex systems by capturing u...
Missing and declining affordances: are these appropriate concepts?
Journal of the Brazilian Computer Society, 2000
The concept of affordance has been brought to HCI by Don Norman, who has recently protested against its misuse by designers. They say they will put affordances in the interface, or afford this or that to the users, but Norman points out that affordances only exist inasmuch as they are perceived by users. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to use the term as designers do. This paper takes the designers' phrases as a spontaneous expression of design intent and explores the correspondences between these and two of the phenomena captured by communicability evaluation: missing and declining affordances. It highlights some useful distinctions between levels of affordances, and hints at possible links between communicative and cognitive perspectives. It suggests that framing affordances within a broader communicative dimension, and taking advantage of the rhetoric that people use to describe what they are doing, can bring interesting insights to design.
Designing for all senses: accessible spaces for visually impaired citizens
2000
where I concluded the writing of this thesis. I am particularly grateful for the contribution and support of my supervisor, Jan Åke Granath, and especially, for his advice and criticism in the search for a more inquisitive and courageous approach to my own ideas. I am also thankful for the caring and detailed support provided by Lisbeth Birgersson, and for the useful comments and criticism given by Jan Ahlin and Jan Paulsson. My 'opponent' in the final seminar, Torbjörn Stockfelt, was also one of the persons who helped me to learn by my own thinking and writing. Many experienced people, involved with the problems of the visually impaired have shared their knowledge and experience with me, both in Sweden and in Brazil. I extend my thanks for all of them. In addition I should especially like to thank the visually impaired persons who kindly accepted being part of an investigation, as well as offering me their friendship and company.
Affordance, conventions, and design
1999
To my great surprise, the concept of affordance was adopted by the design community, especially graphical and industrial design. Alas, yes, the concept has caught on, but not always with complete understanding. My fault: I was really talking about perceived affordances, which are not at all the same as real ones.
On possibilities for action: The past, present and future of affordance research.
We give a historical overview of the development of almost 50 years of empirical re- search on the affordances in the past and in the present. Defined by James Jerome Gibson in the early development of the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action as the prime of perception and action, affordances have become a rich topic of investi- gation in the fields of human movement science and experimental psychology. The methodological origins of the empirical research performed on affordances can be traced back to the mid 1980’s and the works of Warren (1984, 1988) and Michaels (1988). Most of the research in Ecological Psychology performed since has focused on the actualization of discretely defined actions, the perception of action boundaries, the calculation of pi-numbers, and the measurement of response times. The research ef- forts have resulted in advancements in the understanding of the dynamic nature of affordances, affordances in a social context and the importance of calibration for per- ception of affordances. Although affordances are seen as an instrumental part of the control of action most studies investigating affordances do not pay attention to the control of the action. We conclude that affordances are still primarily treated as a util- ity to select behaviour, which creates a conceptual barrier that hinders deeper un- derstanding of affordances. A focus on action-boundaries has largely prevented ad- vancement in other aspects of affordances, most notably an integrative understanding of the role of affordances in the control of action.
The identification of perceived intended affordances
6th International Association of Societies of Design Research Congress (IASDR 2015)
An experiment aimed at testing the hypothesis that perceived intended affordances can be affected by two distinct dimensions, classification and framing, was conducted. One hundred and four participants were asked to tell what action they would most likely take upon eight artefacts. Responses were tallied according to whether participants identified the intended affordance. A chi-square test showed that correct responses significantly varied according to the degree of strength of classification and framing. However, a textual analysis of responses to questions asking participants to explain their answers showed that few of the responses exhibited participants’ knowledge about affordances. The results suggest that perceived intended affordances have to be learnt or primed to be identified correctly.
Accessibility and usability of parks and playgrounds
Disability and Health Journal, 2017
Conflict of interest disclosure: On behalf of all the authors, I wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome. On behalf of all the authors, I confirm that the manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors and that there are no other persons who satisfied the criteria for authorship but are not listed. We further confirm that the order of authors listed in the manuscript has been approved by all of us. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-forprofit sectors. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council and Porirua City Council for their support with this study. We would like to thank CCS Disability Action and The Blind Foundation for assisting in the development of the evaluation tool.
Avant : pismo awangardy filozoficzno-naukowej, 2012
We give a historical overview of the development of almost 50 years of empirical research on the affordances in the past and in the present. Defined by James Jerome Gibson in the early development of the Ecological Approach to Perception and Action as the prime of perception and action, affordances have become a rich topic of investigation in the fields of human movement science and experimental psychology. The methodological origins of the empirical research performed on affordances can be traced back to the mid 1980's and the works of Warren (1984, 1988) and Michaels (1988). Most of the research in Ecological Psychology performed since has focused on the actualization of discretely defined actions, the perception of action boundaries, the calculation of pi-numbers, and the measurement of response times. The research efforts have resulted in advancements in the understanding of the dynamic nature of affordances, affordances in a social context and the importance of calibration for perception of affordances. Although affordances are seen as an instrumental part of the control of action most studies investigating affordances do not pay attention to the control of the action. We conclude that affordances are still primarily treated as a utility to select behaviour, which creates a conceptual barrier that hinders deeper understanding of affordances. A focus on action-boundaries has largely prevented advancement in other aspects of affordances, most notably an integrative understanding of the role of affordances in the control of action.