OTTODesign System

GuideGlossary

Affordance

Affordance describes the perceived call to action that a UI element communicates through its design. What matters is not what an element technically allows, but what users intuitively expect to do with it.

In OTTO Design System, this is expressed primarily through visual cues: a button or card look pressable by being round, underlined text looks clickable, a bordered field looks writable. When these cues are absent or misleading, users either miss interactions entirely – or expect actions that don't exist.

A common form are affordance icons, placed at the right side of components to signal the available interaction. The design system uses the following icons for this purpose:

  • arrow-right – in buttons and rows, signals navigation or forwarding
  • arrow-down – in accordions, signals an expandable element
  • external-link – in buttons and rows, marks an external destination