The Affordance Gradient

Affordances aren't binary. They exist on a spectrum from hidden to obvious. The art is placing each control exactly as obvious as it needs to be — no more, no less.

James Gibson coined "affordance" to describe the action possibilities an object offers to a perceiver. A flat panel affords pushing. A round knob affords turning. Don Norman adapted this for design: a good affordance signals its own use. But this framing hides a nuance — affordances should match the expected frequency and importance of the action they represent.

Too obvious, too hidden

A delete button made too visually prominent invites accidental destruction. A share button buried below the fold is discovered only by the already-motivated. Both are calibration failures, just in opposite directions.

The gradient runs from hidden (only discoverable through exploration or instruction) to ambient (always visible, low visual weight) to prominent (visually weighted, draws the eye). Expert users benefit from hidden affordances that don't clutter the interface. New users benefit from prominent ones that reduce the cost of learning.

Progressive disclosure

Progressive disclosure is the systematic use of this gradient: surface the most common actions at maximum prominence, secondary actions at ambient presence, and rare or dangerous actions at the hidden end of the spectrum. The interface reveals itself in layers as the user's mental model grows. The goal is never to hide information — it's to sequence its arrival to match the user's evolving readiness.