During the CTS lesson, we discuss how thinking deeply in design is important to create something useful as much as possible. We analyze a framework where design is composed of affordances, mapping, conceptual models, constraints, feedback, and signifiers.
With affordances, we define the physical quality of an object that suggests to a human being the proper action to use it correctly. Every object has its affordances, also surfaces, event, and location; for example, a flat surface has the affordance of walk on it, a vertical surface has the affordance of obstructing a movement. If the affordance is high-ranking, more automatic and intuitive will be the use of the device. For example, the aspect of a handle should give information to the user of how the door open: pull it, push it or slide it ( an automatic door has a very low affordance because is not an intuitive use).
Mapping is understood where things like button, lever, or anything also used to interact with the object, needs to be. Like an affordance, mapping right is really important to give an object an intuitive way of how it works. For example, the light’s switch in a room, to be well mapped is usually near the entrance door and not in the middle of the room, another good example is the English plug that has a switch next to it to turn it on and off.
A conceptual model is a representation of a system, made of the composition of concepts which are used to help people know, understand, or simulate a subject that the model represents.
With constraints, in design, we define the limits and what you can do with an object; many objects can be used in a different way from what they were designed for, for example, the use of a gun is to shoot but can also be used as a hummer if you like to.
Feedback is also really important to let understand the user if is doing everything correctly and important to let understand if the object is actually working. We always wait for a feedback on everything we use, for example when we click a button on a computer we don’t know if we have it done correctly until the slot gives a response to our action.
Another example of feedback that really interested me is the acoustic feedback which occurs when an audio input, like a microphone, gets close to an audio output, like a speaker; it results in a loop created by the audio signal that is repeated by both the devices endlessly. Although this effect can be annoying it shows that bought the devices are actually receiving and emitting an audio signal and therefore there are working properly.
The signifier is the meaning of a thing while the signified is the meaning that we give to that object, for example, the signified of a green traffic light is to move.
All this property are fundamentals to create a good design even if sometimes they seem to be forgotten.
Alessandro Casagni 