Probing metaphors in user narratives: Towards a design research method to inform design process

Abstract

Metaphor has long been a topic of investigation in scholarly design research. Studies across various design contexts have demonstrated the value in deliberately exploring and utilizing metaphors to facilitate different phases of the design process, from problem framing to concept generation. However, the analytical potential of metaphors has often been overshadowed by their widely acknowledged generative use, leaving its significance in the research phase of design process relatively unexplored. This dissertation aims to broaden our understanding of the role metaphors can play in design, delving into the analytical role of metaphors in user-centered design research, particularly focusing on the insights that users' metaphors can offer. The central assumption underlying this dissertation posits that designers can enhance their understanding of users by recognizing and analyzing their metaphors. This idea draws upon the cognitive linguistic approach to metaphor, which acknowledges metaphors in language as manifestations of our concepts that are essentially metaphorical in nature. Building on metaphorical concepts' centrality in the way our mind functions and our experience is structured, and supporting evidence provided from other research fields, exploring metaphors of users is considered highly significant in the context of user-centered design, as they can open a window into the worlds of others. It is hypothesized that the analysis and utilization of metaphors can facilitate designer's understanding of users, enable designers to make enhanced anticipations regarding their experiences and nourish new conceptualizations. Therefore, this dissertation investigates systematic ways (i) to explore user metaphors; and, (ii) to facilitate the generation of novel conceptualizations based on metaphor use. The research process has started with an exploratory preliminary study, which investigates whether metaphors in user narratives attracts designers' attention and facilitate idea generation. Followingly, a comprehensive main study was conducted, aiming to explore how designers can analyze and utilize user metaphors in their idea generation processes. The study design involved a systematic collection of narratives from the chosen user group, people living with type-1 diabetes, followed by a procedure where designers engaged with these narratives. 13 designers, equipped with knowledge in metaphor analysis, worked with metaphors in user narratives to generate design proposals. Then, they explained their process of working with user metaphors and the ideas they had generated based on them in follow-up interviews. Outcomes generated through the empirical study were subject to a qualitative content analysis. Consequently, the process of idea generation through metaphor analysis was depicted, identifying useful metaphor categories, diverse analysis strategies, and varied uses of metaphor. Based on the findings of the study, a design research method is proposed to systematically analyze metaphors in user narratives to inform and inspire user-centered design ideas. Overall, findings reveal the potential in exploring user's metaphors in design research. Supporting the hypotheses, employing metaphor as an analytical lens is observed to empower designers to grasp potential users' perceptions and behaviours, ultimately inspiring the incorporation of metaphors to enhance user experiences in diverse ways. The method developed based on the findings of this dissertation offers design researchers, designers and design students who adopt a user-centered design approach a systematic approach that they can adopt when moving from user data to design ideas. Additionally, the informative materials that were developed within the scope of this dissertation to introduce designers to metaphors and the concepts used to analyze metaphors constitute a resource for designers who want to work with metaphors more consciously.