Author: Khutso Nkadimeng
22 Apr 2020
Metaphors are so engrained in how we process digital information that we are not even aware that we are using them. The buildings blocks of our digital world are programming and mark-up languages which are structured using headers, bodies and footers. We build complicated algorithms using parent-child relationships to search through trees of data structured in private or public forms in object-oriented programming. Bodies, headers, footers, parent, child, public, private and languages. That sounds to me like a description of a warzone. My point is: these are words we use to describe things in our physical world. When it comes to the digital world, we use metaphors to simplify complex concepts, to give a sense of familiarity and to evoke emotions. I will be exploring those three ideas in this article.
Simplifying Complex Concepts
I will demonstrate how concepts are simplified with metaphors using a branch of computer science, Data Structures and Algorithms. To write algorithms, we must understand the arrangement of the data we are trying to manipulate. Linked Lists, Trees, Stack and Queues are some examples of Abstract Data Structures. I have known since I was a child what stacking is, putting things on top of each other and as a programmer what I need to know about a Stack is that when I begin unstacking, I start at the top. Whatever data I put in last must come out first. That sounds basic and that is the point of using metaphors.
Familiarity
The Stack example can be used to demonstrate familiarity as well, but I will use online shopping instead. Designers of online shops try as hard as they can to make everything familiar. When you visit Takealot.com you quickly notice they have classed everything into departments: Beauty, Groceries, Health and Hygiene and many others. This arrangement simplifies things and is also familiar. You do not go to Shoprite looking for building materials and while in Shoprite hanging boards indicate what each shelve is carrying and online shops want to give that same sense. When you are selecting items to buy on Takealot, you use a cart, a very familiar tool to shoppers. Online shops also use multiple pictures to allow the level of scrutiny normal to customers. If data was not a problem, I would add music to my shop for an even better and familiar experience.
Triggering Emotions
Triggering emotions does not require cutting edge technologies, a simple human touch will do and once you add a story to it, it carries a deeper meaning. So how do you get a story with a human touch considering the short attention span online? Infographics. A creative combination of words and pictures does the trick hence the rise of content marketing. Different styling can also be used to express the nature of a site, a minimalistic green vegan website will most likely attract more traffic than one with caged chickens in the background.