Lecture 15: Affordances and Usability Principles

N C E S A N D AFFORDA T Y US A B I L I PRIN C I P L E S R U S ER-C EN TERED O KEY CONCEPTS F DESIGN UNDERSTANDING AFFORDANCES AND USABILITY PRINCIPLES AFFORDANCES: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OBJECTS AND POTENTIA...

N C E S A N D AFFORDA T Y US A B I L I PRIN C I P L E S R U S ER-C EN TERED O KEY CONCEPTS F DESIGN UNDERSTANDING AFFORDANCES AND USABILITY PRINCIPLES AFFORDANCES: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OBJECTS AND POTENTIAL ACTIONS. USABILITY PRINCIPLES: GUIDELINES TO CREATE INTUITIVE, USER-FRIENDLY DESIGNS. FOCUS: KEY PRINCIPLES OF FINDABILITY, CONSTRAINTS, MAPPING, AND FEEDBACK PRINCIPLE OF FINDABILITY DEFINITION: THE EASE WITH WHICH USERS CAN LOCATE A FEATURE OR INFORMATION. IMPORTANCE: ENABLES USERS TO COMPLETE TASKS EFFICIENTLY. DESIGN STRATEGIES: CLEAR NAVIGATION STRUCTURES. SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY. DISTINCTIVE VISUAL CUES. EXAMPLE: A SEARCH BAR ON A WEBSITE. PRINCIPLE OF CONSTRAINTS DEFINITION: LIMITING THE USER’S POSSIBLE ACTIONS TO REDUCE ERRORS. IMPORTANCE: PREVENTS UNINTENDED ACTIONS. DESIGN STRATEGIES: GRAYED-OUT BUTTONS FOR UNAVAILABLE OPTIONS. PHYSICAL OR DIGITAL BARRIERS. CONTEXT-SENSITIVE MENUS. EXAMPLE: DISABLED "SUBMIT" BUTTON UNTIL A FORM IS COMPLETED. PRINCIPLE OF MAPPING DEFINITION: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTROLS AND THEIR EFFECTS. IMPORTANCE: IMPROVES INTUITIVENESS AND REDUCES LEARNING CURVES. DESIGN STRATEGIES: LOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF CONTROLS. VISUAL OR SPATIAL ALIGNMENT. EXAMPLE: STOVE KNOBS ARRANGED TO CORRESPOND TO BURNERS. PRINCIPLE OF FEEDBACK DEFINITION: PROVIDING IMMEDIATE AND CLEAR RESPONSES TO USER ACTIONS. IMPORTANCE: CONFIRMS ACTIONS AND GUIDES THE USER. DESIGN STRATEGIES: VISUAL CUES (E.G., HIGHLIGHTING). AUDIO CUES (E.G., NOTIFICATION SOUNDS). TEXTUAL CONFIRMATION (E.G., "FILE UPLOADED SUCCESSFULLY"). EXAMPLE: A LOADING SPINNER INDICATING PROGRESS. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER AFFORDANCES AND USABILITY PRINCIPLES WORK HAND-IN-HAND. KEY PRINCIPLES: FINDABILITY ENHANCES TASK EFFICIENCY. CONSTRAINTS MINIMIZE USER ERRORS. MAPPING IMPROVES INTUITIVENESS. FEEDBACK ENSURES CLARITY AND CONFIDENCE. EFFECTIVE DESIGNS PRIORITIZE THESE PRINCIPLES TO CREATE SEAMLESS USER EXPERIENCES. REFERENCES NORMAN, D.A. (1988). THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS. NIELSEN, J. (1994). USABILITY ENGINEERING. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON AFFORDANCES AND USABILITY DESIGN.