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An Affordance‐Based Methodology for Package Design
Author(s) -
Fuente Javier,
Gustafson Stephanie,
Twomey Colleen,
Bix Laura
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
packaging technology and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1099-1522
pISSN - 0894-3214
DOI - 10.1002/pts.2087
Subject(s) - affordance , usability , context (archaeology) , bridge (graph theory) , computer science , field (mathematics) , human–computer interaction , function (biology) , process (computing) , engineering , knowledge management , systems engineering , mathematics , medicine , paleontology , evolutionary biology , pure mathematics , biology , operating system
The term affordance describes an object's utilitarian function or actionable possibilities. Product designers have taken great interest in the concept of affordances because of the bridge they provide relating to design, the interpretation of design and, ultimately, functionality in the hands of consumers. These concepts have been widely studied and applied in the field of psychology but have had limited formal application to packaging design and evaluation. We believe that the concepts related to affordances will reveal novel opportunities for packaging innovation. To catalyse this, presented work had the following objectives: (a) to propose a method by which packaging designers can purposefully consider affordances during the design process; (b) to explain this method in the context of a packaging‐related case study; and (c) to measure the effect on package usability when an affordance‐based design approach is employed. © 2014 The Authors. Packaging Technology and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.