Conceptual Metaphors for Designing Multi-cultural Applications

This paper proposes a set of conceptual metaphors for the design of multi-cultural systems. The work is part of a long-term study to adapt the international children's digital library for use in a Brazilian context. Results from previous studies along with semiotic engineering concepts have led us to propose five multi-cultural design metaphors to guide different communicative strategies that affect both designer-to-user communication and user-system communication.