Pick 5 examples of designs that borrow heavily from metaphor.

This week we\’ve begun our discussion about moving from user definition and exploratory research into who our users are, and into consideration of how and why our users need the things they do, behave the way they do, and think the way they do. There are a broad range of methods and perspectives related to arriving at these understandings depending on your particular context, the goals you have in mind, and the type of designs you are producing. However, all of them begin with one thing: understanding and working with the existing knowledge and contexts of human users.

For this week\’s reflection, I want you to pick 5 examples of designs that borrow heavily from metaphor. We discussed how old-school audio players in the early 00\’s borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of DJs and car stereos, how the interfaces prominently displayed things like equalizers and text was displayed in a scrolling fashion to borrow from users\’ understandings of similar artifacts and interactions. Another example we used was the usage of steering wheel emulation for the development of video game controllers for racing games, aimed at accessibility for people who are not intimately familiar with a traditional controller.

Find 5 examples of instances like this where design has borrowed from metaphor and existing knowledge or mental models of users, and break them down in terms of the various ways they utilize these mental models. Additionally, I want you to objectively critique the way in which it is done, discuss how these decisions provided potential benefits and limitations in terms of usability and comprehension, design of the artifact, the range of interactions, and any related usability and design concepts you may find appropriate.