The Role of Metaphor in Interaction Design
Before I read this paper on metaphors in interaction design, I had never previously researched the topic or understood the significance of metaphors in technology. However, after reading this paper, I gained valuable information about metaphors and how they relate to interaction design and the way people perceive design. I was always aware of what a metaphor was and why it was used however I never connected it with New Media and technology. Throughout this paper, I discovered the background and purpose of metaphors and how they are used when creating and processing a design, model and various products. Although some people claim that metaphors are harmful in design, I have to disagree because I gained a significant amount of knowledge that made me conclude that metaphors are a very powerful tool for designers. After reading this paper, it made me realize that everything in design is a metaphor for something.
Since there are constant problems everyday that involve ways to design things, metaphors make the process easier and more relatable. For New Media, I think metaphors are extremely helpful when it comes to brainstorming constructive ideas, selling specific products and understanding new subject areas. This is especially helpful when attempting to understanding complex digital devices that are difficult to figure out.
I think it is significant that this paper explores how designers use metaphor in their work, because honestly I had no idea what metaphor had to do with new media and interactive design when I first looked at the header for this paper. I thought it was interesting how the paper brought up interaction design since we just reviewed and responded to a paper regarding interaction design. Its interesting when reading about a metaphor because metaphors don’t just refer to something, they describe some aspect of it which is helpful to understand a certain subject. An important aspect to a metaphor is realizing that a metaphor is directly related to the way you perceive and feel about something. Another important section of this paper that I found interesting was “Metaphor as in inspiration.” In New Media, I’ve realized that old and new media work together, and it is important to understand that new ideas often come from old ideas mixed together. In my NMD 100 class, I read a paper called Forms of the Future that also addressed the significance and ideas old media that are filtered into today’s new media. I think that brainstormed metaphors are the start of various other ideas that can be expanded on in design.
A significant connection I made in this paper was the connection between various metaphors that are applied to a computer. Mice, bugs, files, folders, cursor, screen are all words that were chosen as metaphors to make the connection between people and computers easier to understand. By using simple everyday terms that relate to complex computer terms, people are more eager to use computers and not feel so overwhelmed in the process. I agree with this paper when it mentions that products need forms and metaphors to convey meaning and purpose. When I look at or review a product I always look for some phrase or tool that makes reviewing the product easier. An important concept that I read about metaphors is that in order for a design to be successful and appealing, the designer must factor in the use of an appropriate metaphor. The metaphor should be helpful and should allow the user to feel comfortable with the layout of the design itself. As a user, when I go to a website or blog and it is difficult to navigate and orient myself, I would become frustrated by the design and when want to look at something else that was designed with more valuable information.
As a New Media major, I value the significance of designs being easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing and metaphorically driven. When I am doing work on Photoshop or illustrator I strongly value the modifier keys that are metaphors that make my job in Photoshop easy to manipulate. By simply pressing Control-C/Command-C for cut, my job is made easier because I can manipulate around the screen and program in a more efficient way. I think that metaphors strongly relate to efficiently. I think the simpler the design is to control and manipulate, the more efficient it is when users interact with the design. In the future it would be nice to see even more commands or easier ways to manipulate the screen or design program to make navigation easier and more efficient for designers. Metaphors help us to conceive and understand abstract concepts easier by making connections to other objects. For example,, when I play an interactive game or view a website or online page, I look for metaphors that help me understand certain concepts.
Although some people consider metaphors as a “trap” in society, this is not evidently true. I can understand that some people may confuse the abstract metaphoric object with what the physical object can do; however, I think that is also a lack of common knowledge. It is obvious that certain abstract ideas and objects that clearly do not have the same capabilities as certain physical objects. I don’t agree with the statement “metaphors degrade over time”. When it comes to technology and new media in society, I think that metaphors don’t degrade over time; they just change and become a different metaphor that makes more sense in that point in time. Since New Media is constantly changing and is up to date with technology, it would make sense to just change a metaphor around to better relate to society. I also disagree with that fact that this paper mentions metaphors as an overused design tool. I don’t think anything is overused that is evidently helpful and useful when discovering or interacting with new technologies. Although some metaphors are overused like the metaphor “Computer is a House”, I think metaphors can change their structure to convey the appropriate meaning that a designer is trying to reveal.
A part of this paper I found very valuable was when metaphor was discussed as a research tool. I found this section of the paper very easy to relate with because as a designer, new problems and unfamiliar subject areas constantly surround me. After reading this section I realized to overcome this problem I need to use a metaphor to explore the subject area that I am having trouble with. Since invention comes from the combination of two different objects it is obvious that metaphor is closely related with invention. Since invention is so closely related to design, it is clear that a metaphor stands at the base of design.
To summarize, I found this paper to be very information and interesting when it explained the purpose of metaphors in interaction design. I think the most important part about metaphor is that it is used constantly in design whether designers and users are aware of it or not. I think it’s important to realize that metaphors personalize designs by suggesting words that intrigue the user in order to make the design more interactive and appealing. It’s important when using metaphor to introduce more concepts, because designers need to constantly use familiar words or phrases that express new concepts and ideas that can be relatable. When evaluating a certain design or idea I think its extremely noticeable when a designer forgets to include metaphors. Not only is it noticeable but also it is a negative part of design that makes it hard for the users to understand or interact with.
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