start with the right metaphor in product design, experience design, service design etc prioritising the right functions and forms is easier with a clear coherent metaphor makes decisions self evident who is this for and what metaphors will make sense for them keeps distributed teams on track with compatible mental models of what you’re building makes complex combinations of things simpler to conceptualise can be problematic if you’re clinging too tight to a metaphor that no longer works for your goals or your resources ...