Evaluating the use of metaphor in software interface design: a rhetorical approach

It is pointed out that interfaces that employ overt metaphors, such as the desktop metaphor, require a technique to evaluate the appropriateness and intent of the metaphor. The author suggests a method, based in part on the rhetorical concept of pathos, for evaluating metaphor in interface design. She then examines how a pathos-based method can be used to examine present interfaces and design new ones. It is concluded that the concept of pathos, enlarged with considerations based on schema theory, offers a method for evaluating metaphors with regard to the feelings and needs of the users