Appropriating Affordances. Three Practice Based Explorations

Affordance and Appropriation are related. An effective way of examining these phenomena is through practice. This paper discusses practice based exploration of affordance in the design of physical interfaces. This study follows a framework developed by Zimmerman et al (2007) based on Process Invention and Relevance. Three artefacts that explore affordance with tangible interfaces are presented. Aide Memoire demonstrates that what can be considered a simple and direct affordance may turn out to be a learnt affordance that only becomes simple through familiarity. The Homesick Aliens demonstrate the effectiveness of narrative in encouraging appropriation of a digital artefact. Giant Eyeballs demonstrates the direct appropriation of an affordance.

Content

Author and article information

Contributors

Tom Flint

Conference

Publication date: July 2017

Publication date (Print): July 2017

Pages: 1-11

Affiliations

[0001]Centre for Interaction Design

Edinburgh Napier University

Article

DOI: 10.14236/ewic/HCI2017.36

SO-VID: e76d0d72-4560-466e-9f28-f7a9b943577b

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Conference name: Proceedings of the 31st International BCS Human Computer Interaction Conference (HCI 2017)

Conference acronym: HCI

Conference number: 31

Conference location: Sunderland, UK

Conference date: 3 - 6 July 2017

Conference sponsor: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC)

Conference theme: digital make-believe, with delegates considering our expansive

History

Product

1477-9358 BCS Learning & Development

Self URI (article page): https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/HCI2017.36

Self URI (journal page): https://ewic.bcs.org/

References

W. Belk 1988 ‘Possessions and the Extended Self’ Journal of Consumer Research 15 2 139 168
Z BildaE EdmondsL. Candy 2008 ’ Designing for Creative Engagement’. Design Studies 29 6 525 540
S Bodker 2006 ‘When Second Wave HCI meets Third Wave Challenges’ Paper presented at NordiCHI 2006 Oslo, Norway
S. Bodker 2012 ‘Poetry in motion - Appropriation of the world of Apps’ Paper presented at ECCE 2012 Edinburgh UK
A. Borgmann 1984 ‘Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life’ The University of Chicago Press Chicago
L CandyE. Edmonds 2011 ‘Interacting: Art, Research and the Creative Practitioner’ Libri Oxfordshire
L CandyS (eds) Ferguson 2014 ‘Interactive Experience in the Digital Age’ Springer Cham Switzerland
J. Carroll 2004 ‘Completing Design in Use: Closing the Appropriation Cycle’ Paper presented at the European Conference on Information Systems Turku, Finland
R. Dawkins 1976 The Selfish Gene Oxford University Press Oxford
P DelaneyG TimbrellT. Chan 2008 ‘A Marxian Model of Technology Appropriation’ Paper presented at the JAIS Theory Development Workshop
G DeSanctisM. Poole 1994 ‘Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory’ Organization Science 5 2 121 147
A Dix 2007 ‘Designing for appropriation’ Proceedings of the 21st British HCI Group Annual Conference on People and Computers
P RodgersM Smyth 2010 ‘Digital Blur Creative Practice at the Boundaries of Architecture, Design and Art’ Libri London
P DalsgaardK Halskov 2012 ‘Reflective Design Documentation’ Paper presented at DIS 2012 Newcastle UK
P Dourish 2001 Where the Action is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction Massachusetts MIT Press
P. Dourish 2003 ‘The Appropriation of Interactive Technologies: Some Lessons from Placeless Documents’ Computer Supported Cooperative Work 12 4 465 490
D Fallman 2008 ‘The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration’ Design Issues 24 3 4 18
T. FlintP. Turner 2016 ‘Enactive Appropriation’ AI & Society 31 1 41 49
J Gibson 1979 The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception Lawrence Erbaum Associates, London
H. Heft 2003 ‘Affordances, Dynamic Experience, and the Challenge of Reification’ Ecological Psychology 15 2 149 180
M. Heidegger 1927 Being and Time. Blackwell Oxford
J Hurtienne 2009 ‘Cognition in HCI: An Ongoing Story’ Journal of Human Technology 5 1 12 28
V Kaptelinin 2013 ‘Affordances in The Encyclopaedia of Human-Computer Interaction 2nd Edition’ The Interaction Design Foundation Aarhus https://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/affordances_and_design.html
M. McLuhan 1964 Understanding Media 2002 Routledge London
M Merleau Ponty 1962 Phenomenology of Perception: an Introduction Routledge London
D Norman 1988 The Psychology of Everyday Things Basic Books New York
D. Norman 2005 Emotional Design, why we love (or hate) everyday things Basic Books New York
W. Orlikowski 1992 ‘The Duality of Technology in Organisations’ Organization Science 3 3 398 427
W. Orlikowski 2000 ‘Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations’ Organization Science 11 4 404 428
P SengersK BoehnerD ShayJ Kaye 2005 ‘Reflective Design’ Paper presented at CC05 Aarhus Denmark
J-P. Sartre 1943 Being and Nothingness. Routledge Bristol
D Schön 1983 The Reflective Practitioner Basic Books New York
A. Schneider 2003 ‘On 'appropriation'. A critical reappraisal of the concept and its application in global art practices’ Social Anthropology 11 2 215 229
S SnibbeH. Raffle 2009 ‘Social Immersive Media: Pursuing best practices for multi-user interactive camera/projector exhibits’ Paper presented at CHI 2009 Boston
G. Stevens 2009 ‘Understanding and Designing Appropriation Infrastructures: Artifacts as boundary objects in the continuous software development.’ (PhD) University of Siegen Germany
P Turner 2005 ‘Affordance as Context.’ Interacting with Computers 17 787 800
A WeissD WurhoferTscheligi ‘M “I Love This Dog”- Children’s Emotional Attachment to the Robotic Dog AIBO’ International Journal of Social Robotics 1 3 243 248
T WinogradF. Flores 1987 ‘Understanding computers and cognition: a new foundation for design’ Addison-Wesley Reading Mass
T Ziff 2006 Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon V&A London
J ZimmermanJ ForlizziS Evenson 2007 ‘Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI’ Paper presented at CHI07 San Jose USA

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] W. Belk 1988 ‘Possessions and the Extended Self’ Journal of Consumer Research 15 2 139 168

[2] Z BildaE EdmondsL. Candy 2008 ’ Designing for Creative Engagement’. Design Studies 29 6 525 540

[3] S Bodker 2006 ‘When Second Wave HCI meets Third Wave Challenges’ Paper presented at NordiCHI 2006 Oslo, Norway

[4] S. Bodker 2012 ‘Poetry in motion - Appropriation of the world of Apps’ Paper presented at ECCE 2012 Edinburgh UK

[5] A. Borgmann 1984 ‘Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life’ The University of Chicago Press Chicago

[6] L CandyE. Edmonds 2011 ‘Interacting: Art, Research and the Creative Practitioner’ Libri Oxfordshire

[7] L CandyS (eds) Ferguson 2014 ‘Interactive Experience in the Digital Age’ Springer Cham Switzerland

[8] J. Carroll 2004 ‘Completing Design in Use: Closing the Appropriation Cycle’ Paper presented at the European Conference on Information Systems Turku, Finland

[9] R. Dawkins 1976 The Selfish Gene Oxford University Press Oxford

[10] P DelaneyG TimbrellT. Chan 2008 ‘A Marxian Model of Technology Appropriation’ Paper presented at the JAIS Theory Development Workshop

[11] G DeSanctisM. Poole 1994 ‘Capturing the Complexity in Advanced Technology Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory’ Organization Science 5 2 121 147

[12] A Dix 2007 ‘Designing for appropriation’ Proceedings of the 21st British HCI Group Annual Conference on People and Computers

[13] P RodgersM Smyth 2010 ‘Digital Blur Creative Practice at the Boundaries of Architecture, Design and Art’ Libri London

[14] P DalsgaardK Halskov 2012 ‘Reflective Design Documentation’ Paper presented at DIS 2012 Newcastle UK

[15] P Dourish 2001 Where the Action is: The Foundations of Embodied Interaction Massachusetts MIT Press

[16] P. Dourish 2003 ‘The Appropriation of Interactive Technologies: Some Lessons from Placeless Documents’ Computer Supported Cooperative Work 12 4 465 490

[17] D Fallman 2008 ‘The Interaction Design Research Triangle of Design Practice, Design Studies, and Design Exploration’ Design Issues 24 3 4 18

[18] T. FlintP. Turner 2016 ‘Enactive Appropriation’ AI & Society 31 1 41 49

[19] J Gibson 1979 The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception Lawrence Erbaum Associates, London

[20] H. Heft 2003 ‘Affordances, Dynamic Experience, and the Challenge of Reification’ Ecological Psychology 15 2 149 180

[21] M. Heidegger 1927 Being and Time. Blackwell Oxford

[22] J Hurtienne 2009 ‘Cognition in HCI: An Ongoing Story’ Journal of Human Technology 5 1 12 28

[23] V Kaptelinin 2013 ‘Affordances in The Encyclopaedia of Human-Computer Interaction 2nd Edition’ The Interaction Design Foundation Aarhus https://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/affordances_and_design.html

[24] M. McLuhan 1964 Understanding Media 2002 Routledge London

[25] M Merleau Ponty 1962 Phenomenology of Perception: an Introduction Routledge London

[26] D Norman 1988 The Psychology of Everyday Things Basic Books New York

[27] D. Norman 2005 Emotional Design, why we love (or hate) everyday things Basic Books New York

[28] W. Orlikowski 1992 ‘The Duality of Technology in Organisations’ Organization Science 3 3 398 427

[29] W. Orlikowski 2000 ‘Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations’ Organization Science 11 4 404 428

[30] P SengersK BoehnerD ShayJ Kaye 2005 ‘Reflective Design’ Paper presented at CC05 Aarhus Denmark

[31] J-P. Sartre 1943 Being and Nothingness. Routledge Bristol

[32] D Schön 1983 The Reflective Practitioner Basic Books New York

[33] A. Schneider 2003 ‘On 'appropriation'. A critical reappraisal of the concept and its application in global art practices’ Social Anthropology 11 2 215 229

[34] S SnibbeH. Raffle 2009 ‘Social Immersive Media: Pursuing best practices for multi-user interactive camera/projector exhibits’ Paper presented at CHI 2009 Boston

[35] G. Stevens 2009 ‘Understanding and Designing Appropriation Infrastructures: Artifacts as boundary objects in the continuous software development.’ (PhD) University of Siegen Germany

[36] P Turner 2005 ‘Affordance as Context.’ Interacting with Computers 17 787 800

[37] A WeissD WurhoferTscheligi ‘M “I Love This Dog”- Children’s Emotional Attachment to the Robotic Dog AIBO’ International Journal of Social Robotics 1 3 243 248

[38] T WinogradF. Flores 1987 ‘Understanding computers and cognition: a new foundation for design’ Addison-Wesley Reading Mass

[39] T Ziff 2006 Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon V&A London

[40] J ZimmermanJ ForlizziS Evenson 2007 ‘Research through design as a method for interaction design research in HCI’ Paper presented at CHI07 San Jose USA

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