UX word of the day: metaphor

Metaphor| noun| met-uh-fur

1. : a design element that helps convey similarities between a familiar domain and an unfamiliar domain.
2. : in UX design, a metaphor can be a powerful tool to make new interface-based services more relatable to users.

Photo by Marques Kaspbrak on Unsplash

For example, when Netflix first launched, it was designed as an alternative to in-person DVD stores like Blockbuster. So to attract new users without alienating them from the experience, its interface served as a metaphor for a real-life movie store in which you could browse movies by their disc covers.

With the rise of online services during the pandemic, I appreciated the design metaphors being used by various apps that aimed to replicate their respective ‘in-person’ counterparts. For example, breakout rooms and sessions in apps like Zoom and Webex made it easy to transition to team meetings online because they served as metaphors for how in-person group discussions were held.

Breakout rooms in WebEx and Zoom served as metaphors for real-life group discussions