Today I had my critique with Elouise to decided on the metaphor that I will begin the final design and will implement as a prototype. I like the metaphor “Life is a Highway” and the Bamboo Forest. They are very similar in how they look. Elouise liked the peacock one.
Now I have to admit, the Peacock metaphor stumped me. It did not really inspire me and it didn’t seem like it would work. However, I am currently sick with a sinus infection and that could have played a role on me not being able to brainstorm.
So the chosen metaphor is: “Life is a Highway”. Idea was given to me by friend, Andrew Luly.
Elouise said the Peacock metaphor is simpler than the “Life is a Highway” metaphor in that there isn’t much information displayed. In addition, she said “Life is a Highway” will be a challenge to display the calendar information.
Now to me, I think the Peacock metaphor is harder than the “Life is a Highway”. Trying to display the amount of information on a peacock and the details for the various events with the Peacock metaphor just doesn’t seem like it would work to me. Maybe if it was just strictly for the calendar aspect, it would work.
To clarify, I am interested in not only how the information is presented but the type of information that is presented.
One example is being able to see all your doctor appointments in a calendar year.
I view the calendar as not only something to help manage future events in your life but also as a timeline so that you can see past events.
This whole idea came from a blog that I stumbled across called LifestreamBlog. It’s very interesting concept and I’ve already started to take some small steps.
To me, I view the metaphor “Life is a Highway” as an opportunity to explore alternative ways to view how events are displayed compared to traditional digital calendaring systems.
It will certainly be a challenge, but I welcome it.
I love organizing chaotic information.
The next step is to sketch the prototype application from beginning to end.
Tagged: life is a highway, metaphor, peacock