Affordance

TransPennine to Manchester. I arrive on time, checkin to my AirBnb, and head out to meet Steve F. We hook up with Dave S at the Dragon City.

There’s a noisy birthday party in the middle of the restaurant. We are much more subdued diners. Dave provides most of the conversation, talking about plans for his software (Sensemaker), the contracts he’s landed, politics, history.

The door in the photo is at the AirBnb in Tuscany House. Take a look. Would you push or pull? The small rectangular plate clearly communicates a “push” affordance. There’s no handle, so how could it be “pull”?

It turns out that the vertical piece of metal that runs the full length of the left hand side of the door is, in fact, a handle. The door is pulled open. Previous guests have got stuck in this lobby, desperately trying to get out, because the visual cues are so confusing.