Scott Bower — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:53:05 GMT

Just going to randomly add some comments. Apologies!

Another intersting footnote is Dan Saffer’s thesis project on this topic, “The Role of Metaphor in Interaction Design”.. here is a link to a review which has direct links to his work.
http://www.fullcirc.com/weblog/2005/05/dan-saffers-thesis…

I disagree that we need a common language as pointed out by Andres. It rings of the shortcomings of globalization. Technology lets us tailor more personalized experiences for users and even gives them the ability to do their own MODs. Perhaps that is why simplistic social networking tools are so successful? Generative semantics hit a dead end with Deep Structure (singular meaning), although, new strategies in art, programing, and research are diverging from it in novel ways. The thing I find interesting about generative semantics is it’s similarity to current IA practices. I recently saw a debate between interaction designers on the use of “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” icons in a software app. Somebody somewhere will be deeply offended by that. I give that 2 thumbs down. Not to mention the horror stories of agencies not doing ethnographic research in campaigns in China and alientating millions of people.

Metaphor based on historical models has of course always been a successful part of Industrial Design, as pointed out with horseless carriages. I was in a flea market the other day and saw an IBM computer from over 20 years ago that was built into a wood grained desk. It is a funny thing now. Did we call them “desk computers” only to have it become “desktop computer”? Not to mention the term “blog”... much more agreeable then “personal online content managment system”. Even the word “computer” has changed. Those used to be real people sitting at desks.

Great article, looking forward to the next one.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Scott Bower