A Practical Application of a Taxonomy of User-Interface Metaphor

User-interface metaphors are used frequently in all manner of user-interfaces both as an explicit design decision and also unconsciously. Our past work has addressed the lack of a proper taxonomy of user-interface metaphor by applying research from linguistic philosophy. In this paper we examine the merit of the taxonomy by applying it to a specific user-interface: the Microsoft Office “Project Gallery.” We use the taxonomy to examine metaphors at an individual level, but also to gain more general insight into the collective use of metaphor in the interface. We conclude that the results of this study are likely generalisable across other user-interfaces.