The Psychology of Everyday Things

April 5, 2013Volume 1, Issue 1

I’ve been in many elevators in my life. Usually, the process is easy: get in, wait for the doors to close, press the button to go up or down, wait, then leave. There have been a few incidents where I have gotten on an elevator and what seems to be an easy process is suddenly not so easy.

There are two fundamental principles of design that help users with a process: 1. Provide a good conceptual model. 2. Make things visible.

A conceptual model is when the user is able to mentally simulate the operation because parts are visible and the implication is clear. Making things visible means that the correct parts must be obvious and it must convey the correct message using natural signals.

Do you believe that these two fundamental principles are met on this elevator?

Principles of Design

http://www.skynet.ie/~keelin/project_planning.html

AffordanceWhich ball would you kick? We would

all most likely choose to kick the round ball. That is because we are able to perceive its properties and we know what those properties are meant for. Round objects are meant for rolling, while cube-shaped objects are meant for staying still. This is called affordance.

After kicking the round ball, the user receives immediately feedback that it rolls and the action has been done. This feedback reinforces the affordance (what it is meant for) of an object.

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Kate Thomas

http://www.cooper.com/journal/2010/05/hold_that_elevator.html