Archive for the ‘Advice’ Category

Analysis Paralysis

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

Analysis paralysis. Wikipedia describes it well: “a situation where the opportunity cost of decision analysis exceeds the benefits that could be gained by enacting some decision, or an informal or non-deterministic situation where the sheer quantity of analysis overwhelms the decision-making process itself, thus preventing a decision.” Another name for this is paralysis of choice.

To prevent analysis paralysis then is simple (or so it seems)—reduce the number of choices. However, some companies instead provide a plethora of options to consumers, believing that amongst those options a user will find at least one of them to be perfect for them. They believe that users want choice, and some users do, but for the majority it’s not the case. For example, although one of those options may be perfect for me, the process of narrowing down all of the options can be daunting and cause… you guessed it… paralysis. (more…)

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The web ten years ago

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Smashing Apps recently published a post titled How Popular Website Designs Looked Like In Late 90’s. They went in the wayback machine and grabbed screenshots for current commonly praised sites such as Apple.com and Google.com, and like one would expect, the sites from the 90′s were horrible.

Note though that both Apple and Google’s site, which have both always been fairly simple in design, have barely changed. Take Apple… (more…)

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I have a new job

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Anyone who visits LucianTucker.com immediately learns three things about me—I’m a designer, a writer, and an avid gamer. I’m very passionate about all three, and I believe everyone should follow their passions, no matter what. Following your passion is one of the secrets to happiness people often deprive themselves of.

I once knew someone who washed windows for a living, and was passionate about it. He told me that if you can find something you’d do for free, you should do it for a living. For him, it was washing windows. Makes you think, doesn’t it? (more…)

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Posted in Advice, College | » 1 Comment

Twittered Quotes: 2nd Edition

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Just about everyday, I tweet a quote (@luciantucker). The quotes are usually not directly related to design, but they help to exercise the mind, and the mind is an important tool in design.

The mind is an important tool—I know it’s so obvious it sounds weird to say, but really, it’s important to note. Designers need to read, travel, sketch in their spare time, and things of that nature, if they want to stay sharp.

One tool I use to keep sharp is reading and analyzing quotes, and I’ve decided that I will make a habit out of sharing these quotes with you, thus the title “Twittered Quotes: 2nd Edition.” (more…)

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Your design philosophy not style

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Whenever I think of how a person designs I think of the term “design style,” but I’ve been thinking recently maybe it’s not the right word to use. “Style” seems to imply that a person visually designs a certain way all the time.

I think a better term is design “philosophy.” What I’ve always been interested in is why someone designs the way they do, not how. A person can potentially design different ways visually, but there will seem to be a connection between their designs if they have a certain philosophy. (more…)

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Posted in Advice, Philosophy | » 2 Comments

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