Metaphors are everywhere in interaction design. The desktop, like a desk, is where you keep all your frequently accessed stuff. Buttons, like the physical buttons on our remote controls and lesser remembered devices. (car radios, appliances, etc) Folders that hold files and so on and so forth.

These are acceptable metaphors of physical objects for digital replacements. They use previously learned interaction patterns to improve our interaction with digital technology. (in the case of the examples, paths and directories)

Then there are things like the page-curl. You’ve all seen it. Maybe in a eBook reader or on a web site. It’s that 3D looking dog-eared corner suggesting another layer of content below. The metaphor is that of a book. A linear flow through pages, bound by a spine….. and it’s bullshit. The page-curl is nothing more than a button and it does nothing for our improved interaction with technology today. It is a metaphor gone bad for being too late to the party.

So use metaphors to improve interaction, just don’t abuse them for the sake of being ‘cute’.