An object that I love is my “Audrey” Tea strainer. It is both pleasant to look and serves a purpose. I like that when it is sitting on the counter not being used, that it looks nice and is intriguing. It also works very well, as the flower part fits any cup or mug very easily.
Affordances: The shape of the object is almost male and female, somewhat like lego, in that it only makes sense to place the pointed stem of the flower into the leaf hole. It also relies on our knowledge that a flower has leaves which grow out of the stem to put two and two together and to know that the top sits on the bottom.
Constraints: The flower can be placed into the leaf hole anyway, and the leaves do not have holes so as not to allow any extra water to seep through.
Mapping: The petals of the flower are large, smooth, and bent in such a way that makes it easier to hold between two fingers. The slight tilt in the leaf stand allows for ease when picking it up.
Visibility: Although it may not be obviously apparent when you first look at it, the flower, once picked up and examined, is obviously meant to strain something, as the holes located in the base of the flower could be used for little else.
An object that drives me absolutely crazy is my glue gun. As much as I love how convenient it is, there are so many flaws to it. I get burned all the time, and constantly find it lying on its side oozing glue after having looked away for a minute.
Affordances: It relies on the human knowledge that a gun works by loading it with something and then pulling the trigger. In this case a stick of glue goes in, heats up and is then squeezed out in liquid form via the pressure from the trigger.
Constraints: There are absolutely no indicators of the gun being on, other than when you burn your finger, which is a pretty unfortunate indicator, and there is also no way of telling how hot it is. They could easily place a red and green light to tell the user when it is safe to touch it and when it is not. You can see how much glue you have left through a small hole left, as the stick melts by it. There is also a stand so that when you are not using the gun, it can sit freely without burning anything, but with the stiffness of the electrical cord and the lack of clearance under the hand, it always falls over.
Mapping: The glue gun makes sense to an extent, as you pull the trigger and the glue comes out in the front.
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