Personal

Twenty Fifteen

2015 had been eventful. Between the kids, full-time job, school, and teaching, I am not even sure how I did it, but I am proud of some of the accomplishments:

  • Completed my master in graphic design. This is a big deal for me since I never thought that I would ever go back to school—let alone getting a graduate degree. The best part is that I didn’t spend a dime on tuition. In contrast, I made some money from teaching.
  • Wrote, designed, and published Vietnamese Typography. I am glad to contribute something to both the type design and Vietnamese community. I hope it will be a helpful resource for many years to come.
  • Wrote, designed, and published Professional Web Typography. I am glad to contribute something to the web design community. I am also happy that it helps designers around the world understand web typography better.
  • Repositioned the Mason Law website. Giving the short timeline (less than a month) and the number of people involved, I am satisfied with the new changes for the website. The iterations were small, but they made a big impact. Everyone on the committee, including the new dean, is pleased with the repositioning.
  • Launched ON Designs. I decided to separate my professional work from my personal journal. Visualgui remains my blog and ON Designs is my new portfolio . Making the distinction allows me to focus more on both sides. I can be more personal on my blog and more professional on my work.
  • Made another boy. This is a very special accomplishment and I can’t wait to meet him in February 2016. Love you, boy.
  • Taught two classes: Introduction to Web Design and Web Design & Usability. It was rewarding and challenging. I hope that students have learned the foundation of web design.

What’s Next

2015 had been way too hectic. Juggling between work, school, teaching, and the boys had been challenging, stressful, but rewarding. In 2016, I reduced my activities as much as I can. I am now done with school. As much as I would like to teach, I took a leave. I had no client work and won’t in the future. I spent less time on social media. I uninstalled Twitter off my phone. I deactivated Facebook yesterday. In a way, 2016 will be a new beginning for me. I don’t have any plan other than focusing on what matters most to me. My goal is to become a better father, husband, son, and individual.