Applying the Affording Situations Framework to the Design of Physical User Interfaces

Abstract

In Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), designing interfaces that facilitate intuitive interaction remains a central goal. Achieving this requires a deep understanding of human behaviour, par- ticularly how users perceive and engage with the functionalities offered by interactive interfaces. Gibson (1979)’s concept of affordance,as action possibilities in the environment to a specific animal based on its capabilities, has long served as a valuable framework for understanding user interaction. As the affordance concept introduced by Gibson implies perception-action coupling, many efforts are being made to integrate the affordance concept in the design field for more intuitive interactions. However, Gibson’s broad explanation of the concept is insufficient for the design community to apply it. Numerous research has emerged to propose affordance-based frameworks for designers after slightly refining Gisbosn’s original concept. However, the impact of such frameworks is limited due to the lack of conceptual agreement on the term affordance in the proposed frameworks, leading to the misuse of the affordance concept in design. The pro- posed frameworks also suffer from a theory-practice gap where designers rarely implement that framework practically in their design process. This thesis aims to synthesise a new theoretical framework for designers from existing knowledge about affordance theory and HCI, facilitating the incorporation of the affordance concept in intuitive interaction design with physical user interfaces. This thesis adopts the General Method of Theory Building proposed by Swanson et al. (2013) to achieve its research aim. The research process follows five main phases: concep- tualise, operationalise, confirm, apply, and refine. Through this structured approach, the thesis makes its primary contribution: a new synthesis of prior work on affordance theory, presented as a theoretical framework—Affording Situations. Designing to support an affording situation requires understanding the constraints imposed by the artefact, the user, the environment, and the purpose and carefully considering the relationships among these elements. The proposed framework highlights how the user’s prior knowledge, physical capabilities, needs, and the sur- rounding environment can shape an affording situation—sometimes in ways that diverge from the designer’s original intentions. This framework explains human interaction with physical user interfaces (PUIs), supports the integration of the affordance concept into the design of intuitive interactions, and addresses challenges that hinder the real-world adoption of shape-changing interfaces.