Digital Artefacts and the Role of Digital Affordance

DS 116: Proceedings of the DESIGN2022 17th International Design Conference

Year: 2022
Editor: Mario Štorga, Stanko Škec, Tomislav Martinec, Dorian Marjanović
Author: Samuele Colombo (1), Francesca Montagna (1), Gaetano Cascini (2), Virginia Flavia Palazzolo (1)
Series: DESIGN
Institution: 1: Politecnico di Torino, Italy; 2: Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Section: Design Theory and Research Methods
Page(s): 11-20
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2022.2
ISSN: 2732-527X (Online)

Abstract

This work investigates how the concept of affordance should be revised following the digital evolution. Starting from a review of the literature about affordance, the most acknowledged constructs are compared with the variegated definitions of digital artefacts. The paper proposes a definition of digital affordance, overcoming the inconsistencies identified in the literature. The study is enriched by a series of interviews to investigate the final users' perception of affordance. Finally, the paper shows the application of the proposed model with a case study related to food delivery services.

Keywords: user-centred design, human behaviour, smart products engineering, affordance, digital design