Affordances of intimacy. An ecological approach to human-product interaction

In this paper, I propose the possibility of adopting an ecological approach and the concept of affordance to analyze the phenomenon of human-product interaction as a whole, thus considering not only instrumental interactions, but also non-instrumental and non-physical ones (Desmet and Hekkert, 2007). I claim that the concept of affordance has been interpreted narrowly so far, while it could be applied, to some extent, also to the affective realm, and thus to understand not only relationships of physical proximity but also of psychological intimacy. The aim is to identify key factors in the establishment of intimate relationships, in order to understand how the experience of intimacy can be linked to product properties. The topic of intimate relationships with objectsis relevant in the field of design especially because it favors theacceptance of objects and technologies at various levels of intimacy: from the domestic sphere to portable devices, wearable technologies, and prosthesis.