Chapter published in:
Producing Figurative Expression: Theoretical, experimental and practical perspectivesEdited by John Barnden and Andrew Gargett
[Figurative Thought and Language 10] 2020
► pp. 299–330
Generating metaphors in product design
Nazlı Cila | Delft University of Technology
Paul Hekkert | Delft University of Technology
A product metaphor mediates between the
experience process of a user and the generation process of a
designer. A user goes through the stages of perceiving that a
metaphor has been employed in a product, recognizing its target and
source, comprehending why these particular entities are brought
together, and appreciating (or not) this association. A designer has
a particular intention to attain through the product (i.e., target)
and comes up with a meaning to convey accordingly, finds a source
that can assign this meaning to the product, and creates a mapping
from this source to the product. In this chapter, we will first
present a basic framework for metaphoric communication and proceed
by elaborating on the designer side of the model. We will address
each step through presenting our own research findings and/or
analyzing current product metaphors in the market, and transform the
framework into a detailed metaphoric communication model. We will
end the chapter by discussing the model in a broader context of
metaphor generation process and give metaphor producers a summary of
considerations on creating more effective and aesthetic
metaphors.
Keywords: product metaphor, metaphor generation, metaphoric communication, product design, association, mapping, metaphor quality, metaphor aesthetics
Published online: 17 December 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.10.11cil
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.10.11cil
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