Interface metaphors and conceptual models

Jenny Preece (1994)

From The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 9th Ed.

"... the application of a name or descriptive term or phrase to an object or action to which it is imaginatively but not literally applicable (e.g., a glaring error)..."

Metaphors are used frequently in language to aid understanding of a concept.
(Time & Money; we spend, waste, living on borrowed.. time)

Word processors sometimes likened to typewriters

GUIs using metaphors carry over objects and behavior from the real world to the virtual

Metaphors can be mixed and contain 'baggage'

Metaphors also a 'fun' element to interaction

Getting the design right:

Users typically only have a partial understanding of the design model

Design model presented by the 'system image'

Adapted from Norman and Draper, 1986