Lesson Eight:
Metaphor
Page Architecture
Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison between two things that communicatese their similarities. Metaphors allow designers to describe one thing by taking advantage of what the user already knows about another thing. A common example of a metaphor in the English language is "she's a diamond in the rough". The user of this term isn't actually trying to say that the person is a diamond, but instead they are like a diamond in the rough, something very valuable and beautiful, but yet unpolished and not quite realized.
In interface design, for example, a shopping cart icon on a web page is useful for users to know where to find the items they have selected to buy. Because users understand clearly the function of a shopping cart in the real world, they can transfer that knowledge into their web shopping experience as well.
In the book cover example below the metaphor of a door lock is used to communicate the nature of the material found inside the book (entitled "Private Matters") . This type of lock is found inside a home, usually. Therefore, just as a person would open the lock to let someone into their most personal area (the home), this book symbolizes that as a person opens the book they are given access to information that is highly personal and "private".
In the two examples below, the organization peta is communicating the relationship between one's fork / barbeque, and the cages that are the sad reality of factory farming. The fork and the barbeque metaphorically symbolize the cages.
The example below is metaphorically comparing the way borders between countries are tears in the world. It is powerful in it's symbolism, demonstrating the pain, the unnaturalness, and the negativity of the arbitrary borders that the human race has established. We are one people, in one world, with one fate.
The below ad is attempting to communicate that the new mercedes is "a pearl", and therefore it is valuable, rare, sophisticated, etc...
Page Architecture
Page architecture is a term used to describe the layout of a page (online or in print). It describes how the page is constructed, where elements are placed, the hierarchical organization of the content, and the general flow of the page. Please read the two handouts on the main page for more information.