UX Design Glossary: How to Use Affordances in User Interfaces

An affordance is a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object could possibly be used.

An affordance is a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object could possibly be used.

An affordance is a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determine just how the object could possibly be used.

Affordances represent the possibilities in the world for how an agent (a person, animal, or machine) can interact with something. Some affordances are perceivable, others are invisible.