New Metaphors
New Metaphors is a card-based workshop for reframing a complex issue by inventing new metaphors for it. Groups first name the metaphors already in use for the issue and what those metaphors assume, then pair randomly chosen image cards with the issue to create alternatives and test what each would make people think or do differently. The method and its card deck were developed by Dan Lockton and colleagues at the Imaginaries Lab and first published in 2019.
Facilitation script
- 1
Warm-up: discuss how common metaphors shape thinking, then practise by pairing random image cards with random concepts.
10 min - 2
Introduce the issue. Groups name three existing metaphors or framings and note what each presupposes and implies in a two-column table.
20 min - 3
Lay out about 20 image cards per group. Each person picks one or two, the group compares the qualities shown with the issue, agrees on one new metaphor and records its implications.
20 min - 4
Groups prepare and present how their metaphor could be used for a chosen audience, with questions after each presentation.
30 min - 5
Plenary reflection on how the new metaphors change thinking and acting, and which ones are worth taking further.
10 min
Tips
Do not let groups browse for the perfect image.
The method works because an arbitrary picture forces a comparison nobody would have chosen, so have people pick fast or draw cards face down.
Spend real time on the analysis of existing metaphors; groups that skip it tend to produce a pleasant image with no argument behind it.
Always ask where the new metaphor breaks down, because that is where its hidden assumptions show.
Common pitfalls
Skipping the analysis of existing metaphors. Groups then have nothing to push against and invent images that restate the current framing in new clothes
Letting people search the whole deck for a card that fits their existing opinion. The random element is lost and the workshop produces illustrations instead of new framings
Stopping at the clever phrase. A metaphor nobody has tested for implications cannot guide a campaign or a design and is forgotten after the session
Never asking where the metaphor fails. Every metaphor hides something, and an unexamined one can import assumptions as problematic as the one it replaced
Underestimating preparation. Printing and cutting cards takes time, and arriving with too few forces groups to share a small set, which narrows the results
Variations
Swap presentations: groups hand their metaphor to another group, which has to present how it could be used. This shows quickly whether the metaphor is understandable without its inventors. Without the deck: use printed photographs, postcards or magazine cut-outs, as long as the images are varied and unrelated to the issue. Online: place image cards on a shared whiteboard, give each breakout group its own frame and table, and have people drag their chosen cards in. Short version: drop the application step and end with each group stating its metaphor and two implications, which fits in about 60 minutes. Large groups: with more than 20 people, present in a gallery format instead of one group after another.
Where it fits
When to use it
An issue is discussed in the same terms every time and the framing itself seems to limit which solutions people consider
A debate is polarised around one dominant image, such as a fight, a race or a burden, and you want to open other ways of seeing it
A team is at the start of a communication, product or service concept and needs fresh starting points
The topic is abstract or invisible, such as data, energy, climate or mental health, and people struggle to talk about it concretely
You have 90 minutes, tables and the time to print cards beforehand
When not to use it
The group needs to explore feelings about its own situation. Metaphor Work uses images to talk about the team itself, which this method does not
You need a prioritised list of solutions by the end. The output is a set of framings, so follow it with a selection method such as Dot Voting or use a problem-solving format instead
You have under an hour. The analysis of existing metaphors gets cut first and the results become decorative; use Random Word for a quick creative prompt
The problem is well defined and technical. Reframing adds little when the question is how to execute, not how to see the issue
Participants do not share a working language well enough to play with figurative meaning. Use a visual method such as Object Metaphor with more facilitator support
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is New Metaphors?▾
New Metaphors is a workshop method and card deck for reframing an issue by creating new metaphors for it. Participants examine the metaphors currently used for the issue, then combine image cards with the issue to invent alternatives and work out what each would imply. It was developed by Dan Lockton and colleagues at the Imaginaries Lab and presented at the ACM Creativity and Cognition conference in 2019.
Do I need the original card deck?▾
The Imaginaries Lab offers the cards as free PDF downloads and also sells a printed pack, and using them saves preparation time. The procedure itself only needs a varied set of images that have nothing to do with the issue, so photographs or postcards work too. If you use the original cards, check the licence terms in the toolkit before reproducing them in your own materials.
How is New Metaphors different from Metaphor Work?▾
Metaphor Work asks people to describe their own situation through an image, mainly to surface feelings and views that are hard to say directly. New Metaphors is aimed at an external issue: it analyses the framings society already uses and deliberately designs a replacement that can be used in communication or design. The first is a reflection technique, the second a reframing and ideation workshop.
How long does it take and how many people can join?▾
The workshop as described takes 90 minutes, plus preparation time that is mostly printing and cutting cards. It works with up to about 40 people divided into groups of two to five. With many groups, shorten each presentation or switch to a gallery format so the presentation step stays within 30 minutes.
What do you do with the metaphors afterwards?▾
Treat them as hypotheses about framing. The strongest ones can be turned into a communication concept, a naming or visual direction, a product idea or a line of argument in a strategy paper. Before committing, test a metaphor with people from the intended audience, since a framing that persuades the workshop group can land differently outside it.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Dan Lockton and colleagues, Imaginaries Lab (New Metaphors toolkit, 2019).