Integrating function- and affordance-based design representations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Abstract
Copyright © 2015 by ASME. In this paper, we explore the possibility of reconciling and integrating practical affordance- and function-based design representations. We present a classic functionbased design method and representation and argue for the benefits of augmenting it with affordance-based approaches. Building on existing function concept ontologies, we present an integrated approach to developing early-stage design representations. This approach combines the use of affordance and function representations to capture user needs across a device's life cycle. We demonstrate how affordances add rigor and expressiveness to the early stages of traditional design processes, and how traditional function-based tools provide affordance-based design (ABD) with structured methods for concept generation. The integrated approach is illustrated with an example, in which a use case is explicitly decomposed to demonstrate the structure of relationships between users, goals, actions, artifacts, functions, and affordances.
Publication Title
Journal of Mechanical Design, Transactions of the ASME
Recommended Citation
Ciavola, B.,
Wu, C.,
&
Gershenson, J.
(2015).
Integrating function- and affordance-based design representations.
Journal of Mechanical Design, Transactions of the ASME,
137(5).
http://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029519
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/11713