Happy Is Up, Sad Is Down : 65 Metaphors for Design

We think, feel, and talk in metaphors.

Why not use them for design?
Feeling down? Cheer up! We use metaphors every day and often without being aware of it. Many metaphors are more than figures of speech. They reflect basic bodily experiences and help to structure our thinking and experiences of the world.

Happy is Up, Sad is Down is a collection of 65 metaphors with research facts and applications in product and interaction design, information graphics, and advertising.
Metaphors show how to use space and physical attributes to convey abstract concepts like time and importance, emotions and social relations, political ideas and ethical values. This book is meant to inspire designers and everyone curious about how the mind works.

Jörn Hurtienne, Diana Löffler, Clara Hösch, Daniel Reinhardt, Robert Tscharn, and Stephan Huber are a team of psychologists, designers, computer scientists, business consultants, and researchers who came together at the Chair of Psychological Ergonomics at Würzburg University.

Jörn discovered his love for metaphors in 2004, drew others into this and they have been studying their usefulness for design ever since. They have successfully used metaphors in the design of automotive user interfaces, websites, medical systems, robots, industrial controls, consumer goods, and augmented reality systems.