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"Purely digital."

There is no such thing. That's like saying "purely hologram". Pixels have no inherent materiality. There is nothing about the Metro UI that couldn't be recreated on a piece of paper.

The goal is visual communication and delight. Sterile for the sake of sterile isn't virtuous.

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"Purely digital" means it avoids real-world metaphors like postal mailboxes, analog clocks and magnetic tape.

I did notice that the proposed "Purely Digital" interface included icons representing an old style phone handle (which younger customers probably haven't seen), a physical letter (increasingly rare), and a paper wall calendar.

The difference is that they're not fundamental to the interface. You won't see an audio player that looks like a reel-to-reel or a dialing app that looks like a rotary phone.

Metaphors are part of visual communication. Blatantly disregarding metaphors creates unnecessary confusion and abstraction--it separates the interface from culture.

Remember, all of this stuff is ultimately (and most truthfully) 1's and 0's. There is always abstraction. It is best to choose the abstraction that is most DESCRIPTIVE.

Did you look at the examples? No one is talking about getting rid of metaphors.

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