Metaphors and analogies in grocery design
In the interaction between man and computer and in the design of user experience, metaphors and analogies have always been used to draw attention to the functions and capabilities offered by technology. Analogy and metaphor are closely related concepts, but it is important to realize the difference between them. Among other things, understanding the essence of these techniques will help determine in which situations it is better to use metaphors, and in which - analogies.
The essence of the metaphor is to use some concept from another semantic field to denote what you implement in design.
What to do :
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Turn the unfamiliar into the familiar
Metaphor helps to explain a new, unfamiliar phenomenon through what the user already knows. The most famous metaphor in the field of human-computer interaction and user experience design is the “desktop metaphor” by Alan Kay. It helped us move from entering commands on the command line to managing visual objects represented in digital form directly.
The first desktop on Mac OS 1984, which brought wide popularity to the new graphical user interface.
Create positive associations
With the help of metaphors can cause an emotional response. When Apple was working on the second generation of the iMac, Steve Jobs and Johnny Ive once strolled in the garden and tried to imagine what the new model of the device would look like. Steve was caught by a sunflower, and he proposed making the second-generation iMac look like a sunflower. If you look at the picture below, you will notice that with its flexible leg, with which you can change the position of the screen, the device really looks like a sunflower.
Using the metaphor of a sunflower makes the iMac more "humane."
Persuade people
If you offer people a distinctive product that is not similar to those that already exist, you need to describe it at least in part with the help of concepts that the audience understands well. Pinterest, which has won 10 million users in a record time for a social platform, is built on the metaphor of a note board. Users "attach" to their photos on the board, which are found on the Web, and make up thematic collections. This metaphor inspires people to work.
What not to do :
Avoid primitive, literal metaphors
Finding a good metaphor for design is very difficult. There is always a risk that you will make the wrong choice and everything will go somersault. As we all know from experience, a bad metaphor can be confusing. One such example is Microsoft Skrepysh. He gained fame as one of the most unsuccessful interface solutions ever offered to the general public, and turned out to be among the most unpopular functions in the entire franchise history. Skrepysh serves us to remind you that if you make the metaphor too straightforward, get too carried away with it, it starts to get on your nerves.
Skrepysh from Microsoft - annoying animated clip that appeared in a corner of the screen and distract users from the workflow.
Do not copy the real prototype blindly
Apple's iBooks is a great example of such a mistake. In iBooks, a design imitating a bookcase was used, right up to 3D shelves and woodgrain textures. The bookcase metaphor was designed to help users transfer what they know about bookcases in reality (a place to store and organize material storage media) to the realities of the virtual environment. Shelves and woodwork had nothing to do with the functionality of the application, they were used to make the metaphor more obvious. Later, Apple abandoned this skeuomorphic interface design.
Apple's iBooks used a familiar and clear bookcase image to make the user understand what he sees in front of him and help establish an emotional connection.
Analogy is a comparison of two concepts (as a rule, belonging to the same category), between which there is a partial similarity. Its main difference from metaphor is that the metaphor refers us to a concept from another category.
What to do :
Show familiar in new light
People constantly draw analogies - this is a natural way for us to understand the world. Analogies allow us to see familiar objects and phenomena in a new light, which, in turn, suggests non-standard solutions to problems. Well illustrates this process the history of the thermostat from Nest, the design of which used an analogy. In fact, this design refers us to Honeywell's classic thermostat: round shape, temperature is controlled by rotation. Nest had many other possible options for representing the functional, but they chose this one. Because of this, their thermostat looked "surprisingly familiar."
Classic Honeywell round thermostat (left) and Nest thermostat (right). New technologies are outlined in familiar to pleasant form.
Help people learn new concepts.
We are not even aware of this, but our brain constantly compares new concepts with what we already know well in order to better understand them. We are looking for similarities between past experiences and all new situations, which helps us to understand new products. Before Facebook appeared - a giant among social platforms, which changes the very model of human communication and, perhaps, over time, will change the face of the media - MySpace took its place. MySpace was designed for the same audience and hit the market much earlier than Facebook. But he had one serious flaw: the personal pages, in the eyes of many, looked odd. In addition, MySpace allowed users to customize their personal pages. The result can be seen below.
Typical user page on myspace.
Facebook began to act, one might say, by contradiction. It was applied analogy with a printed student card. Since many had to deal with a similar way of presenting data, most Facebook users seemed very easy to understand and convenient.
Facebook used the student’s printed card analogy for a virtual user profile.
Using different types of allegories, such as analogy and metaphor, to express meanings, you can more easily convey to the user what you want to say. Metaphors and analogies are not just useful tools to educate and help the user, they are alchemical mechanisms that turn acceptable content into content that can influence people, and good products into outstanding products.
Metaphor
The essence of the metaphor is to use some concept from another semantic field to denote what you implement in design.
What to do :
')
Turn the unfamiliar into the familiar
Metaphor helps to explain a new, unfamiliar phenomenon through what the user already knows. The most famous metaphor in the field of human-computer interaction and user experience design is the “desktop metaphor” by Alan Kay. It helped us move from entering commands on the command line to managing visual objects represented in digital form directly.
The first desktop on Mac OS 1984, which brought wide popularity to the new graphical user interface.
Create positive associations
With the help of metaphors can cause an emotional response. When Apple was working on the second generation of the iMac, Steve Jobs and Johnny Ive once strolled in the garden and tried to imagine what the new model of the device would look like. Steve was caught by a sunflower, and he proposed making the second-generation iMac look like a sunflower. If you look at the picture below, you will notice that with its flexible leg, with which you can change the position of the screen, the device really looks like a sunflower.
Using the metaphor of a sunflower makes the iMac more "humane."
Persuade people
If you offer people a distinctive product that is not similar to those that already exist, you need to describe it at least in part with the help of concepts that the audience understands well. Pinterest, which has won 10 million users in a record time for a social platform, is built on the metaphor of a note board. Users "attach" to their photos on the board, which are found on the Web, and make up thematic collections. This metaphor inspires people to work.
What not to do :
Avoid primitive, literal metaphors
Finding a good metaphor for design is very difficult. There is always a risk that you will make the wrong choice and everything will go somersault. As we all know from experience, a bad metaphor can be confusing. One such example is Microsoft Skrepysh. He gained fame as one of the most unsuccessful interface solutions ever offered to the general public, and turned out to be among the most unpopular functions in the entire franchise history. Skrepysh serves us to remind you that if you make the metaphor too straightforward, get too carried away with it, it starts to get on your nerves.
Skrepysh from Microsoft - annoying animated clip that appeared in a corner of the screen and distract users from the workflow.
Do not copy the real prototype blindly
Apple's iBooks is a great example of such a mistake. In iBooks, a design imitating a bookcase was used, right up to 3D shelves and woodgrain textures. The bookcase metaphor was designed to help users transfer what they know about bookcases in reality (a place to store and organize material storage media) to the realities of the virtual environment. Shelves and woodwork had nothing to do with the functionality of the application, they were used to make the metaphor more obvious. Later, Apple abandoned this skeuomorphic interface design.
Apple's iBooks used a familiar and clear bookcase image to make the user understand what he sees in front of him and help establish an emotional connection.
Analogies
Analogy is a comparison of two concepts (as a rule, belonging to the same category), between which there is a partial similarity. Its main difference from metaphor is that the metaphor refers us to a concept from another category.
What to do :
Show familiar in new light
People constantly draw analogies - this is a natural way for us to understand the world. Analogies allow us to see familiar objects and phenomena in a new light, which, in turn, suggests non-standard solutions to problems. Well illustrates this process the history of the thermostat from Nest, the design of which used an analogy. In fact, this design refers us to Honeywell's classic thermostat: round shape, temperature is controlled by rotation. Nest had many other possible options for representing the functional, but they chose this one. Because of this, their thermostat looked "surprisingly familiar."
Classic Honeywell round thermostat (left) and Nest thermostat (right). New technologies are outlined in familiar to pleasant form.
Help people learn new concepts.
We are not even aware of this, but our brain constantly compares new concepts with what we already know well in order to better understand them. We are looking for similarities between past experiences and all new situations, which helps us to understand new products. Before Facebook appeared - a giant among social platforms, which changes the very model of human communication and, perhaps, over time, will change the face of the media - MySpace took its place. MySpace was designed for the same audience and hit the market much earlier than Facebook. But he had one serious flaw: the personal pages, in the eyes of many, looked odd. In addition, MySpace allowed users to customize their personal pages. The result can be seen below.
Typical user page on myspace.
Facebook began to act, one might say, by contradiction. It was applied analogy with a printed student card. Since many had to deal with a similar way of presenting data, most Facebook users seemed very easy to understand and convenient.
Facebook used the student’s printed card analogy for a virtual user profile.
Conclusion
Using different types of allegories, such as analogy and metaphor, to express meanings, you can more easily convey to the user what you want to say. Metaphors and analogies are not just useful tools to educate and help the user, they are alchemical mechanisms that turn acceptable content into content that can influence people, and good products into outstanding products.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/329074/
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