John McWade’s How to Design Cool Stuff actually shows you how to design professional-looking print and web materials. The book is a quick read, but filled with useful tips and guides on using types, photographs and colors to enhance your design. The cool thing about this book is that John McWade makes the techniques easy and simple, but the results are stunning. Beginners will find How to Design Cool Stuff to be very beneficial. This is the first Before & After book I have read and I am looking forward to reading more from this series.

Jeffrey Zeldman once said that Jeremy Keith could write about cement and he could still make the subject interesting. As I was reading Jeremy Keith’s DOM Scripting: Web Design with JavaScript and the Document Object Model, I couldn’t agree more. Keith has such an accessible approach in his explanation. Here’s an example of how he breaks down variables (JavaScript syntax):

In our everyday lives there are some things about us that are fixed and some things that are changeable. My name and my birthday are fixed. My mood and my age, on the other hand, will change over time. The things that are subject to change are called variables.

Can’t get any clearer than that. The second edition of DOM Scripting is filled with updated guidelines and best practices for applying unobtrusive JavaScript to enhance, rather than getting in the way of, the user experience.The book also introduces some new HTML features including canvas, video, audio and forms. A recommend read for web designers.

While working on Writerhead, I was thinking of designing a WordPress theme and just sell it. The idea was inspired by Khoi Vinh’s Basic Math and iA³ Template for WordPress and it would be a great way to learn the nuances of WordPress. Then again, I more of crafting a unique experience than creating something general. In addition, WordPress has over 1,300 themes to choose from.

As I was debating whether if it’s worthwhile to invest a tremendous amount of time in creating a general theme and make $30-$50 or only take on projects that let me concentrate on a specific theme that meets the client’s requirement, I had a potential client who asked me take on a project that I have not done before. The client wanted me to take a theme on Theme Forest and turn it into a site. Basically, the client wanted to cut out the design cost. After looking into Theme Forest, I refused to offer the service. As of this writing, Theme Forest has 930 themes for WordPress. Setting up WordPress and activating a theme is an easy part, getting the theme to meet the client’s requirements probably need tremendous editing and forking into the codes. I don’t mind doing the work, but I don’t feel that’s a good investment on the client part. Why paying for something that potentially look the same with other sites?

As stated in the info page: “We work directly with our clients to craft each web experience according to the needs of their users.” I will stick to that and only offer a unique experience. This also leads to my decision not to make a general WordPress theme for sale.

Here is a list of books I have read in my commuting trips and free time:

Stunning CSS3 by Zoe Mickley Gillenwater covers new CSS features, such as gradient, transition, rounded borders, through project-based demonstration. The last two chapters, “Different Screen Size, Different Design” and “Flexing Your Layout Muscles,” are particularly useful for those who would like to learn responsive web design.

HTML5: Up and Running by Mark Pilgrim is a short and concise read that gets you up and running with new markups in no time. Pilgrim’s Dive Into HTML5 is also a great resource.

Pro HTML5 Programming by Peter Lubbers, Brian Albers, Frank Salim takes you beyond the basic HTML5 markups and shows you the power of APIs including WebSockets, Geolocation and Web Storage, to create robust web applications.

Now that GW has announced the move toward Drupal as the University’s CMS, I am starting to read up on the open source system to get a feel for it. I installed Drupal 6 in the past and played around with it, but didn’t get very far because I didn’t have a real project to work with. I actually want to read up on Drupal 7, but haven’t founs a good book yet since the latest version came out not too long ago. Using Drupal by Angela Byron et al. published three years ago, but it is still a good read to see what you can do with Drupal without programming skills. Using existing modules and themes alone could get you up and running complex sites like job posting board, product reviews and Wiki.

For front-end developers and designers, Front End Drupal by Emma Hogbin Konstantin Kafer is very informative in learning how to customize the look and feel of Drupal. The thing to note about Drupal is that upgrading from version 6 to 7 is not as easy as clicking a button like WordPress, one of the features I live about WordPress. Themes are specific for each version.

Create Stunning HTML Email That Just Works by Mathew Patterson is what I needed when I had to create some HTML email templates for the School of Business. I have to admit that designing an HTML email was quite a challenge. In fact, I was struggling with it. I had to forget everything I have learned about HTML and CSS for the past ten years in order to make the design looked correct in mail applications. Patterson sounds convincing about the opportunities for web designers as he points out, “email is a low-cost, high-return medium that appeals to businesses.” I had clients who requested HTML newsletter design and I hesitated to take on. It’s really a pain, but I am changing my mind after reading this book.

In 2009, Hien Thuc released Portrait 17, a Trinh Cong Son’s songbook. With fancy electric beats and slick r & b flavors, the album showed that Hien Thuc lacked the experience to take Trinh’s music to its fullest. Her new Trinh’s release, Thien Su, however, marks a sea change.

What a tremendous improvement in just two years. Hien Thuc has learned the essence of simplicity and the art of phrasing Trinh’s lyrics. On “Vuon Xua,” she sings with just an acoustic strumming guitar courtesy of Tran Thanh Phuong. The spared, intimate accompaniment allows her to articulate Trinh’s words. “Ru Doi Da Mat” is another excellent track with minimal orchestration. The superb arrangement provides her the space to pour out her heart without hitting the high register.

“Goi Ten Bon Mua” is one of Trinh’s most covered tunes, but the new-age mix makes Hien Thuc’s version stands out. The blending of sixteen-stringed zither (dan tranh) melodic lines and subtle electric rhythm is so damn irresistible. The producer also weaved some traditional folk chords into the break. Arranger Huyen Trung has quite an ear for exotic sounds and lush strings. “De Gio Cuon Di” has an elegant, tasteful classical orchestration and the track would have been even better if she had performed the song solo rather than with Duc Tuan.

With effortless flow, classy arrangements and the ability to dig deeper into the lyrics, Hien Thuc has found her own voice in Trinh’s music rather than a duplication of Khanh Ly, Trinh Vinh Trinh or Hong Nhung. She definitely is bringing a fresh new air to the Trinh’s timeless tunes. If there is one thing Hien Thuc can to improve, it has to be her breath control.

We visited a very closed friend of our family who lived next to us in Vietnam. She’s my sister age. She and her husband speak Vietnamese, Chinese and English. They have four kids and they all speak English and Chinese, but no Vietnamese.

One of my cousins married a Chinese woman. He speaks Vietnamese, Chinese and English. They have two kids and they both speak English and Chinese, but no Vietnamese.

You probably get my point already. I know many many Vietnamese couples who English aren’t so good, yet their kids speak only English. What is going on here? Are we not teaching our kids Vietnamese?

We try our best to speak only Vietnamese to Dao, but he spends most of his day at daycare speaking English. For now he uses both languages. If we teach him something first, he would remember it. For instance, he would say “ech” whenever he sees the picture of a frog rather than “frog.” On the other hand, no matter how many times I said “con voi” to him, he would only say “elephant” first when he sees image of an elephant.

Fortunately, one of the teachers at the daycare is Vietnamese and so they both talk in Vietnamese. His assigned teachers would say to us that whenever Dao and Ms. Tam talk they have no idea. At times, he mixed both languages and confused the heck out of his teachers, but they are very encouraging about him speaking Vietnamese.

My goal is to teach him Vietnamese. So if you have successfully teach your kids Vietnamese, please share your tips. We have to teach our kids to learn their native language.

I love the way kids communicate. They get straight to point. Let me give a few examples. We visited my mom this weekend. Early Saturday morning, Eric, my little six-year-old nephew, came into the room I was sleeping in and lay down next to me. I turned toward him and he started to cough. So here’s our little conversation:

Me: “You have a cold?”
Eric: “No, it’s your breath.”
Me: “My breath makes you cough?”
Eric: “Yes, your breath smells bad.”
Me: “Thanks, Eric!” (laughed)
Eric: “You’re welcome.”

A few minutes later he looked at me. Our conversation went on.

Eric: “Your nose-holes are big.”
Me: “How big?”
Eric: “As big as a cow.”

I guess I need to start saving up money to get a nose job. Anybody needs a web site?

My little boy who is almost two years old is even a tougher critic than his dad. Whenever I started to sing, he would wave his hand and protest, “No nhac” (no music). There goes my dream of becoming a singer.

I am pleased to announce the new launch of Writerhead …with Kristin Bair O’keeffe. This is the second project I get to work with Kristin, the talented writer. Two years ago I created a web site for Kristin’s first novel Thirsty and we both were very happy with the project. So when she approached me to turn her static site into a vibrant, dynamic blog, I didn’t hesitate.

Before I even gave Kristin an estimate, she already had all the contents ready for me. I wish all my projects could begin this way. Kristin also knew exactly what she wanted: simple but bold. As you can see from the site, you can’t get any bolder than a big, bold persimmon masthead with an incredible amount of text. My first instinct was that it’s too much text for a site description, but then I didn’t want to take it out after I see the playfulness of it. That’s what making the site stands out.

Kristin wants the ability to update the entire site herself; therefore, WordPress is the perfect tool for this project. The theme is based on “Toolbox: An HTML5 WordPress Starter Theme.” The theme is styled with semantic HTML5, but I modified the codes a bit to incorporate HTML5 Boilerplate. I tried to stay closed to “Toolbox”‘s structure as much as I can so Kristin can add new widgets or create new menu item without me going into the codes. I relied mostly on CSS to jazz up the look and feel. I also used CSS media queries to make the layout responsive. CSS3, HTML5 and WordPress make me love what I do.

Writerhead is truly a rewarding project to me. Even though I digged into these new technologies with Visualgui.com, Writerhead allows me to see WordPress really works. With Visualgui.com, I customized almost everything so it is very specific for my own needs, but Writerhead is much more flexible since I have to design with other users in mind.

So thanks Kristin for the opportunity. I hope you’ll enjoy using the site as much as I have enjoyed designed and developed it.

By the way, Kristin will open a personal essay workshop online. So if you’re interested in improving your writing skills, check out her classes.

Giles Colborne’s Simple and Usable is irresistible, specially for a minimalist like myself. Colborne argues, “When something is simple, it looks effortless.” He gives examples of Flip video camera and Apple products and explains how simple user experience makes them stand out.

After setting out a vision for why we should design for mainstreamers rather than expert customers, Colborne lays out four key strategies for simplicity: remove, organize, hide and displace. He uses a DVD remote control to illustrate how an over-complicated gadget could be simplified as he points out, “The secret to creating a simple user experience is to shift complexity into the right place, so that each moment feels simple.”

For anyone who looks into creating user-focused experiences for web, mobile and interactive platforms, Simple and Usable is a must read.

Quynh Hoa’s latest release, Romance, is thankfully not an English album sung by a heavily accented Vietnamese singer. The title suggests the romantic vibe of Ha Noi since most tracks, including Tran Tien’s “Ha Noi Ngay Ay,” Nguyen Vinh Tien’s “Thu Ha Noi” and “Cafe Ha Noi,” were written about the city.

Romance kicks off with Nguyen Cuong’s “Vuon Em Dem Qua No Mot Canh Mai.” The track begins with a few hypnotic electric bass lines then follows by sweet, melodic Vietnamese flute. As soon as Quynh Hoa’s sultry, smoky contralto joins in, you know you’re in for a fantastic ride. Tran Tien’s “Ha Noi Ngay Ay” gets a gorgeous electric makeover complemented with savory keyboard touches and sensuous saxophone licks. What makes the track stands out is Quynh Hoa’s effortless delivery no matter how fancy the arrangement gets. Her low notes in particular are so damn seductive, noticeably on the piano-only accompaniment of Nguyen Vinh Tien’s “Thu Ha Noi.”

The spellbind breaks when she tries to tough up her pipe on Nguyen Cuong’s “Bien Dau Buon Den The.” Her flow is stilted and her vocals are rough as if she wanted to sound like a badass. The good thing is that she pulls back on Nguyen Vinh Tien’s “Ha Noi Cafe” and curls her phrasing like smoke around the strumming acoustic guitar. The album closes out with a striking orchestration of contemporary folks on Nguyen Cuong’s “Ho Bien.”

Romance is a much needed change in the endless repetition and unimaginative direction of the current Vietnamese pop scene. Mad props to Minh Dao for some fresh arrangements as well.