Oh what a tangled web we weave: metaphor and mapping in graphical interfaces

The relations among graphical representations, computer functionality, and everyday objects are more complex than terms like “the desktop metaphor” may suggest. While metaphors in the everyday world highlight similarities between preexisting entities, interface metaphors create new ones. But new computer entities can also be created without using metaphor, when existing ones are combined via conceptual structuring and the results expressed via iconic perceptual mappings.. Naming such constructs involves yet another metaphor, however, between the functionality suggested graphically and that implied by the name. In sum, interface representations – which can only be called “metaphors” metaphorically – are complex and confusing, but this leads to a flexibility and power that may be lost if simpler mappings are used.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1995
• Where: CHI
• Authors: William W. Gaver
• Keywords: CHI 1995, Desktop Metaphor, Graphical Representations, Human Computer Interaction, Iconic Perceptual Mappings