I came across this slideshow whilst trying to find some sources to help me get my head round the concept and significance of skeumorphs. I came across this quote from Gessler – and then I got it!
Skeuomorphs are material metaphors instantiated through our technologies in artifacts. They provide us with familiar cues to an unfamiliar domain, sometimes lighting our paths, sometimes leading us astray…. They help us map the new onto a familiar cognitive structure, and in so doing, give us a starting point from which we may evolve additional alternative solutions.
I confess, until I saw this slideshow, the whole concept lost me. So now you know why we like old artefacts so much. Wordpress won’t embed the slideshow, so here is the URL -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/youraccount/sets/72157622030187096/show/
Flickr Video
