skeuomorph: one construct, many systems

In archaeology a skeuomorph is a feature of an object that reproduces something once functional in an earlier material or technique but now merely decorative (clay vessels that imitate the rivets, seams, or handles of metal prototypes, for instance). The referent is a retained, now-ornamental trace of a superseded way of making, carrying the memory of one material into another.[1]

Unit

A non-functional feature carried over from an object's earlier material or method

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Identified by features whose form matches a prior material's functional requirement yet serve no function in the present one

In interface design skeuomorphism gives digital elements the look and texture of their real-world antecedents (a notes app styled as a leather pad, a delete icon as a waste bin) so familiar cues ease use even though the underlying function is wholly digital. It is the same idea of a form outliving its original material, transposed from artefacts to software.[2]

Unit

Digital elements styled after the physical objects they replace

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Seen in interface ornament that mimics a physical material or control without functional necessity