

Design Your Website Like A Trash Can - dshipper
http://dshipper.posterous.com/design-your-website-like-a-trash-can

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Natsu
They're just talking about affordance[1], but it's a pretty good example.
Anyone interested in this might also like the book The Design of Everyday
Things.

[1] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance>

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dshipper
Thanks! I loved that book when I read it a few months ago. One of the best
examples they give of this concept is a VCR. There's only one way to put a
tape into a VCR, and it isn't done with instructions or symbols, it's done
using affordance or physical constraints. It doesn't fit any way but the right
way.

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sigvef
But my phone number doesn't have a dash in it!

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dshipper
Perhaps the site in question only allows US visitors ;). But good point! I
guess there's always the danger of over-constraining possible inputs, but the
general principle still holds that more guidance is better than less, and the
more you can give that guidance without resorting to text the better.

