# Objects of Design Metaphor

> Source: <https://liamzebedee.com/design/articles/objects-of-design-metaphor/>
> Published: 2026-05-28 02:24:31+00:00

# Objects of Design Metaphor

##### May 28, 2026

I love this sort of stuff. To me it’s a very creative thing, sort of like a design metaphor.

You have two distinct objects - butterfly and jumper - and then some expression of one in terms of another, which just fits.

Dear AI researchers - please make an eval for this. Why can’t an AI think **symbolically** in the visual domain? (maybe using something like [DreamCoder](https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.08381)?)

The one example I can think of why this is interesting - the old Macbook genuinely used to **breathe**. It had a sleeping indicator LED that faded in and out at a rate similar to the human heartrate. A beautiful design metaphor. [Just a little detail that wouldn’t sell anything](https://unsung.aresluna.org/just-a-little-detail-that-wouldnt-sell-anything/).

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