Metaphors of the Past

An interesting article by Clive Thompson [“Out with the Old”, Wired Feb 2012], on how designers keep simulating analog interfaces in digital products.

In short: On design that is “governed by skeuomorphs

“Unless we start weaning ourselves off [the metaphors of the past], we’ll fail to produce digital tools that harness what computers do best” — here the discussion is centered around negative effects on user experience product of “bits of designed that are based on old-fashion, physical objects”.

— Ariana

P.S. For those of you interested in the digital/analog conversation, you may want to check Clive Thompson’s articles. The writer often publishes short articles that lightly discuss the old and the new. A good source of inspiration – this light reading can spark some ideas for further exploration (e.g. on “The Future of Printed Books“, Wired Dec 2011).

 

One comment

  1. Thanks, Ariana! A lot of these concepts should come in handy when we apply this week’s readings in our own “textual materialist” analyses in class tomorrow.

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