This is an excellent post and something I think a lot about when it comes to instituting metaphors in a piece of software.
While it is often helpful to build on a user’s prior knowledge via the use of an interface or workflow metaphor (the excellent example given in the post is that of calculator apps), these metaphors may ultimately cause developers to lose sight of the fact that we aren’t bound by the rules of the physical world and a large part of the reason we use digital systems is because of this fact.
Trying to balance implementing familiar patterns while leveraging the power of software is probably the toughest part of developing a top-tier user experience.
We’re often told that we should design our websites and software to mimic real-life objects. The iPhone strengthened this idiom, and Apple has been driving this home hard for the iPad.
But it’s not absolute, and it’s not always the best idea. My favorite counterexample is the typical calculator…
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Marco.org: Overdoing
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fuckyeahspringmilk reblogged this from marco and added:
Absolutely brilliant discussion
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informed by reality,
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interface metaphor
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ungeziefer reblogged this from marco and added:
recently finished reading You Are Not...Gadget by Jaron Lanier. It is
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an excellent post...instituting metaphors...software. While...
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therealadam reblogged this from marco and added:
Personal pet peeve: apps...real world. Marco’s thoughts
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drauh reblogged this from marco and added:
exactly why, when I need...run bc, or Python...complicated...
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