Every time I listen to Tuan Ngoc’s gorgeous rendition of Trinh Cong Son’s “Nho Mua Thu Ha Noi,” it urges me to do a slideshow. From Trinh’s picturesque visual lyricism to Duy Cuong’s intimate arrangement to Tuan Ngoc’s intricate yet effortless phrasing, this tune strikes a perfect balance between words, music and vocals. Imaginary and motion would add another dimension to the song and that is where I come in.

A while back, I wrote a post looking for photographers who had taken beauty shots of Ha Noi to collaborate on the piece. I contacted half a dozen of them. Since the project has no money involved, it’s understandable that none of them replied back to me even though their work will get exposure. It would also required more time from them to go out and shoot more photos to accompanied the song so it was impossible to collaborate. As a result, I abandoned the concept.

Thanks to my lovely lady who scoured the web to gather images that are suitable for the slideshow and encouraged me to pick up the project again. So this is for you, my love: “Nho Mua Thu Ha Noi.”

Disclaimer: This is a personal piece and I am not making any money off it. I really hope that the owner of the images don’t mind me using their photos.

Just in time for Vietnamese New Year, I am proud to introduce the launch of a brand new web site for a grand-opening restaurant: Le Mekong Vietnamese Cuisine. Khanh Quynh, co-owner of the restaurant, is a young, creative lady who would like to get things right from the start. She knew what she wanted to do with the restaurant and she knew right from the beginning that marketing is essential.

At first, Ms. Quynh hired me to design the web site, but I also ended up creating print materials including logo, business cards, letterhead, flyers, gift certificate, envelope, handbook and server training cover. Her reason is that she would like a consistent look and feel across the board and she likes my simple style. I can’t argue with that.

I didn’t design the print version of the menus, even though Ms. Quynh would like me to, because it would be too much. I am not a graphic designer; therefore, I am not ready to take on the menus in the time frame that was set. The online menus, however, are the pages I am most proud of in this project. The items were presented using pure CSS instead of tables.

The logo is set in HL Thu Phap, an extremely popular Vietnamese typeface that is being used everywhere in Vietnamese publications. What makes this brand distinctive is the bright orange set against the brown background and complemented with the clarity of Univers. While the script suggests traditional Vietnamese, the san-serif gives a sense of modernness. I gave Ms. Quynh several designs, but this one seals the deal.

As you can see on the homepage’s slideshow, the interior colors of the restaurant match the colors of the web site. Like I said earlier, Ms. Quynh is very consistent. She sent me the palette right after she had a meeting with her interior designer and immediately I knew what the web site would look.

As for the code behind the scene, this straightforward web site is markup in HTML5 with a bit of CSS3 and a Flash slideshow. I also convinced Ms. Quynh to use Twitter as a marketing tool for her restaurant. She can tweet about new promotions or specials of the day on Twitter without having to hire me to update the web site for her. It’s a great, cost-saving way to get the words out. I also gave her Twitter page a similar look and feel.

Le Mekong has just opened for business in less than three weeks; therefore, some of the contents like press and events are still to come. I also whipped up the about page as well as the intro blurb on the homepage. If you live around Johns Creek, Georgia, come check it out and let me know what you think of the food. Just tell her you’re a friend of Visualgui.com and you’ll receive 20% off. So what are you waiting for? Head to Le Mekong and treat your family a New Year dinner.

Attorney Julie Vien Tran just launched Julie Tran Law, a simple, professional and elegant web site with dual languages (English and Vietnamese) to promote her law offices.

What I have learned from our email conversations is that Ms. Tran is not only professional, but also very approachable, and I wanted to convey that on her web site. Right on the homepage, I have Ms. Tran standing in front of a faint (almost silhouette) but recognizable building of the Supreme Court. Her pinstripe suit suggests professionalism and her friendly smile gives visitors the personal connection.

The only problem is that Ms. Tran is a modest person and she doesn’t want the web site just to be about her since she will be planning on recruiting more attorneys. (Any lawyer needs a job?) So the homepage will be changed once she hired a photographer to take some shots to be rotate on the front page, but for now, I am glad we are launching with this direction.

As for the navigation, my initial approach was to have two separate sets: one for English and one for Vietnamese. When I combined the two together and set them apart using font size variations, the navbar looks much better. If users want to read Vietnamese, they can just click on the Vietnamese words.

Ms. Tran designed the logo herself and I made a suggestion to use a different typeface. I wanted the letter J and L to have a sense of balance with the middle T holding the two letters together to resemble the scales of justice. Bauhaus 93 has that perfect balance.

As for the coding, this site is structured in HTML5, the future of markup, with a dash of CSS3 for some visual effects and a bit of PHP to hold the pages together.

GWbusiness is a print magazine that published twice a year by The George Washington University School of Business. Up until now, the only alternative version available online is a PDF file.

With the recent issue, we decided to offer a web-standards version for readability and accessibility. Furthermore, the main push is the ability to sell ads online as well. To meet those goals, I designed a simple, clean, organized and easy-to-use layout with an ad space that would be visible, but not distracting.

The focus of site is obviously the contents. I am very pleased with this direction and excited to announce the launch of the online version of GWbusiness Magazine.

What better way to start a New Year than with a new work? The good old folks at Triple Strength just launched Brand3, a blog that focuses on three components integral to creating brands: aesthetics, storytelling and functionality.

My role was lending a hand in turning their gorgeous design into a web blog. Powered by WordPress, I customized the layout according to the client’s mockup and functionalities to suit its needs. The site developed with HTML5 structure and CSS3 for some progressive enhancements. If you don’t see rounded corners, switch to the latest Firefox or Safari. The contents of the blog look promising so make sure to subscribe to its RSS feed.

Working on Brand3 gave me a chance to learn more about PHP and the flexibility of WordPress. Furthermore, it was a opportunity to rework with an agency that I had a great pleasure of working with briefly for before moving to Vassar. Though my time at Triple Strength was only three months, it was a very rewarding experience.

I was up almost two in the morning cranking out a web page for Cu Dao while he was sleeping and rolling around our bed. I wanted to create a page for him when he was first born, but the slideshow took over the priority. Then it just got pushed back. Last night, I decided to just whip it up.

I got up half asleep this morning, changed him, put him in the play room for a bit. We even made coffee together. When it was time for us to leave, he crawled over to me and cried. I picked him up and he smiled. It was so hard to let him go. Anyway, this is for you, my little sunshine.

“No escape would be complete without the strength of seeking freedom by boat people. No words could describe how terrifying boat people suffered on that unforgettable escape.” –boatpeople.org

Words indeed could not describe the boat people’s experience and I have no intention of telling their stories. “Bien Nho” is a personal dedication to my eldest sister. If it wasn’t for my sister who risked her life, I wouldn’t be living in this country right now. This is just to show her my appreciation.

Although the concept came to me a couple days ago, “Bien Nho”— a tune written by Trinh Cong Son and performed by Khanh Ly—has been on mind for a while. I wanted to do something beyond the romantic relationship of the song and this is it: the relationship between Viet Nam and its people.

“Bien Nho” is not a political statement, but rather a reflection of a journey that would stay forever with those who had been through it. My sister is one of those millions who have made it through all the hardships and the sufferings. This is for her and all the boat people.

The visual design for Visaulgui.com hasn’t changed much, but the structure and CSS have been completely rewritten. For the past two nights, I read up the HTML 5 spec and apply to this site while Duke asleep. Mocha BK Joe, currently on promotion for buy one get one free, has been my source of energy. The only way for me to learn is to actually doing it and Visualgui.com is the perfect project to do so. Here are a few resources I have found helpful: HTML5 Doctor, Baseline, Handcrafted CSS and most importantly HTML 5: The Markup Language. If you come across any glitch, please describe it in the comment with the browser that has the issue. It’s time for me to catch some sleep with Cu Dao.

A Flash trailer for Thirsty is now online. This is a collaborative effort between the author, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, who wrote the script, Jacqueline Francis who came up with the music and myself who created the motion graphic.

Kristin had done a great job of gathering all the pieces together and planned out what exactly what she wanted to express. Jacqueline produced the score based on Kristin’s storyboard. Since both the music and the script were tightly structured, I knew I couldn’t get the synchronization correctly on the first time. I had to reworked the animation to find the right flow as well as the right timing. Fortunately, I got both down perfectly the second time.

I am satisfied with the final product. I spent a whole night after a five-hour drive on it plus a couple of hours here and there. So go check it out!

Kristin Bair O’Keeffe’s debut novel, Thirsty, is the story a woman who lived through an abusive relationship. The book is set in a mythological town somewhere in Pittsburg around the booming of the steel-making industry in 1880s. Although Thirsty is very dark, there were moments of lightness and hope.

To provide the companion web site the dramatic look and feel, a striking steel mill artwork by Craig McPherson as a backdrop. To balance out the dark tone, the title of the book is set in white, large typeface. The blue butterfly was also added to give a sense of hope. In contrast of the homepage, which is completely dark to convey the mysterious tone, the secondary pages turned white for readability.

Thirsty is an exciting project for me simply because I haven’t done a site like this before. The best part of the work is hitting the target on the first attempt. My first draft is usually my best work. This project has definitely brought the creative juice out of me and I am looking forward to doing another book site.