Using metaphors to create a natural user interface for microsoft surface

Creating a new model of human computer interaction is not straightforward. Only a handful of such models have been commercially successful. Those that have, such as the graphical user interface (GUI), can provide valuable lessons. When we were challenged to develop a new natural user interface design for Microsoft Surface, we drew from these lessons and from modern user research techniques. A prominent starting point resulting from this was using metaphors to develop the new user interface. We used metaphors for two reasons: To create a user interface world that was understandable and predictable for our users, and to guide the design team in creating the detailed user interface design. We continued this practice in the user research: We focused on which metaphors worked best in the studies, and learned if users understood the metaphors we were using and which metaphor they preferred. This case study describes the process we followed, and the lessons we learned from this.