We chose as our visual representation for our essay, Figures of Speech, a cow and an Eames Chair because the general theme of our essay was how both designers and non-designers frequently misuse metaphors when describing a visual object or situation. We chose a cow because Caplan states that a metaphor is “for cows to graze in.” He then goes on to say that this is a metaphor for how people use metaphors but don’t understand their “function.” We also chose the Charles Eames chair because it’s something that he mentions as being a good design strategy, so we placed the cow on the chair to show how metaphors are misplaced. Throughout the essay, Caplan mentions several other metaphors which include a “horse’s ass,” a “pimple on a marine’s ass,” as well as icons on a computer.” We chose to place the cow on the Eames chair because this image is as confusing as he described many metaphors to be. This visual representation sums up the article because metaphors are often misused and misplaced.
