IPA IP 2024 Question 68
A question IPA Japan published in 令和6年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問68, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Which of the following is the term for a concept that is used in information design and is a perceivable clue that induces appropriate human behavior, such as the shape of the doorknob of a room suggesting how to open and close the door?
Explanation
Signifier — a perceivable cue that tells people what to do and how, like a doorknob’s shape showing whether to push, pull or turn.
The term comes from Donald Norman’s work on design. A signifier is something users can see, hear or feel that signals where and how to act: a flat plate on a door says push, a handle says pull, an underlined blue word on a screen says tap or click. Good signifiers let people act correctly without instructions. (Affordance is the possibility of the action itself; the signifier is the cue that makes it perceivable.)
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) — an NUI lets users operate a computer by natural actions such as gestures, touch and voice; it is a kind of interface, not a cue
- •(b) — a wizard guides the user through a task in a series of dialog steps
- •(d) — multi-touch is a touch panel’s ability to detect several touch points at once, for pinching and rotating
Key rule: Signifier = the visible clue to an action; affordance = the action an object allows.
Human Interface · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.