The affordances of broken affordances

Martin Gielsgaard Grünbaum, Jakob Grue Simonsen*

*Corresponding author for this work
3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We consider the use of physical and virtual objects having one or more affordances associated to simple interactions with them. Based on Kaptelinin and Nardi’s notion of instrumental affordance, we investigate what it means to break an affordance, and the two ensuing questions we deem most important: how users may (i) achieve their goals in the presence of such broken affordances, and may (ii) repurpose or otherwise interact with artefacts with broken affordances. We argue that (A) thorough analyses of breakdowns of affordances and their associated signifiers and feedbacks have implication for design, particularly so for virtual artefacts, and that (B) there is a largely unexplored design space for designing, and redesigning objects with broken affordances, rather than broken or decayed objects.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHuman-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2015 : 15th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Bamberg, Germany, September 14-18, 2015, Proceedings, Part III
EditorsJulio Abascal, Simone Barbosa, Mirko Fetter, Tom Gross, Philippe Palanque, Marco Winckler
Number of pages18
PublisherSpringer
Publication date2015
Pages185-202
ISBN (Print)978-3-319-22697-2
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-319-22698-9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Event15th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human–Computer Interaction, INTERACT 2015 - Bamberg, Germany
Duration: 14 Sept 201518 Sept 2015

Conference

Conference15th IFIP TC 13 International Conference on Human–Computer Interaction, INTERACT 2015
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBamberg
Period14/09/201518/09/2015
SponsorMicrosoft Research, Noldus information Technology, Oxford University Press, SAP
SeriesLecture notes in computer science
Volume9298
ISSN0302-9743

Keywords

  • Affordances
  • Breakdown
  • Design
  • Mediated action
  • Technology affordances

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