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Metaphors
You can take advantage of people's knowledge of the world around them by using metaphors to convey concepts and features of your application. Use metaphors involving concrete, familiar ideas and make the metaphors plain, so that users have a set of expectations to apply to computer environments. For example, people often use file folders to store paper documents in their offices. Therefore, it makes sense to people to store computer documents in computer-generated folders that look like file folders. People can organize their hard disks in a way that's analogous to the way they organize their
file cabinets.
The desktop is the primary metaphor for the Macintosh interface. It appears to be a surface on which people can keep tools and documents. Several other metaphors are integrated into the desktop metaphor. It makes sense in the context of a desktop environment to include folders and a trash can (even though most trash cans don't sit on the desktop). Menus are an extension of the desktop metaphor. People can connect the idea of making choices from a computer menu with making choices from a restaurant menu. Although people don't keep restaurant menus on the edge of their desks, using the term menu in the computer environment reinforces the idea that people can use computer menus to make choices.
Metaphors in the computer interface suggest a use for something, but that use doesn't define or limit the implementation of the metaphor. For example, a paper file folder has a limited storage capacity, but a folder on the Macintosh doesn't have to be constrained by the same limitations. Computer folders can hold a limitless number of files (up to the storage capacity of the hardware), and this is an advantage that the computer can offer. Try to strike a balance between the metaphor's suggested use and the ability of the computer to support and extend the metaphor.
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