- What is a metaphor for a book?
- What is metaphor in UI?
- How are interface metaphors used?
- How are metaphors used to help create good interfaces?
What is a metaphor for a book?
A metaphor is a literary device that imaginatively draws a comparison between two unlike things.
What is metaphor in UI?
In user interface design, an interface metaphor is a set of user interface visuals, actions and procedures that exploit specific knowledge that users already have of other domains. The purpose of the interface metaphor is to give the user instantaneous knowledge about how to interact with the user interface.
How are interface metaphors used?
A user-interface metaphor provides a visual or action pattern that leverages a user's knowledge of another domain. Metaphors provide the user a quick understanding of context and meaning of interface contents based on familiarity with another, typically physical, domain.
How are metaphors used to help create good interfaces?
Metaphors communicate affordance.
We use metaphors to communicate what an object is, its purpose, and how people can interact with it. We know that recognition is better than recall, however when there is little recognition a user must rely on their memory (recall) of how something works to interpret how to use it.