The rule of three with Ellen Lupton

UX Podcast

S02E15 (#325). Ellen Lupton, designer, educator and author, helps us stock up our toolbox of design principles and methods, starting off with storytelling in visual design, and the “rule of three” before we move on to linear and non-linear experiences. Will we follow the rule of three and have a third topic?

We talk about IKEA and The Wizard of Oz, labyrinths and mazes. The use of colour to craft a narrative within larger experiences. The importance of pace, and that sometimes a challenge is good for the experience.

“[Seven] is a beautiful number. It’s a prime number, it has an elegance within the sequence from one to ten. That’s very attractive. And of course, people can remember seven things, not me anymore.”

– Ellen Lupton

(Listening time: 31 minutes, transcript)

References:

• Full transcript for this episode
• Ellen Lupton
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenlupton/
  • Website: https://ellenlupton.com/
  • Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ellen-Lupton/author/B001JRZFK8
• Ellen’s talk at FBTB 2023 – Storytelling and visual design (YouTube)
  • Get a 10% discount on your FBTB 2024 ticket by using the code UXPODCAST
  • Massively discounted student tickets are also available!
• [02:15] Rule of threes (Wikipedia)
• [05:00] Magic numbers, 7 plus/minus 2 (Wikipedia)
• [05:00] Short term memory (Wikipedia)
• [06:30] The starbucks advert example (YouTube, at 5:57 in Ellen’s talk)
• [08:00] Labyrinth vs maze
• [14:10] Linear and non-linear narratives
• [20:00] Why links between colours and emotions may be universal
• Recommended listening:
  • Episode 239: Storytelling with Anna Dahlström
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