“Out went symmetry, ornament and drawn illustration; in came white space, plain letterforms and photographs,” Richard Hollis writes in his insightful book that examines the progression of Swiss style dating from 1920s. Many theories (honest representation) and principles (grid systems) are still applicable to today’s design. With extensive documentation and visual presentation, I had to read it twice in a row to soak in all the information.
I started a category on typography to collect links and posts on the subject that I am passionate about. I also have two Pinterest boards on type: Typography and Jazz Typography. I’ll definitely spend more time on this category in the future.
Hôm thứ Bảy vừa qua đang ngồi ăn cơm trưa với bác Trâm và Kỳ thì cu Đán chạy đến hét to, “Muốn cặt. Muốn cặt.” Thì ra là nó muốn cắt jello ra để cho nó ăn. Thằng con trai này nói tiếng Việt mà bỏ dấu không đúng chổ thật nguy hiểm quá.
Nghe nó nói làm tôi nhớ đến một ông thầy người Mỹ dạy về môn typography. Trong một project thiết kế lại thực đơn của một nhà hàng thì tôi chọn menu của tiệm La Cay Chợ Lớn. Khi đưa cho ổng đọc thì chữ “La Cay” nghe cũng đúng nhưng ổng lại sửa “Chợ Lớn” thành “Cho Lồn.” Tôi nhịn cười không nổi nên ổng hỏi ổng nói gì mà tôi lại cười. Tôi trả lời, “You don’t want to know what you just said.” Ổng bảo rằng, “Sure why not? Just tell me.” Tôi đáp rằng, “You said ‘give me pussy.'” Cả lớp lăn ra cười làm ông ta đỏ cả mặt.
Greg Tate:
Once during an interview with Wynton Marsalis he asked me what quantifiable musical relationship I could conceivably hear between jazz and hiphop. My first answer, besides the obvious rhythmic one, was the timbre and tonality of the voices, the male voices in particular. Even Wynton didn’t find anything to argue with in that. Developing that idea even further I’d say the great MCs of hiphop and the great players in jazz share the characteristic of having unmistakable tones, tones one can identify in sometimes one or two notes, and certainly within 8 bars. The sonic, rhythmic, lyrical organization of ideas of Trane, Wayne and Joe Henderson are immediately distinguishable to the serious listener from those of Ornette, Dolphy, and David Murray—as those of Biggie, Rakim and Chuck D are distinguishable fron the flows of Q Tip, Ghostface Killa, and Trick Daddy.
Alex W. White’s Thinking in Type is a concise, informative book on the practice of typography. Unfortunately, the design of the book itself is quite distracting with crammed examples. What’s the deal with square-triangle bullets throughout the book? White ought to focus on the content of the book and let someone else handle the design.
A brief, smart introduction to graphic design from the one and only Chip Kidd. The book is beautiful, filled with great examples and set in large Century Schoolbook. Go is a perfect gift to kids from 10 and above. Even if they are not interested in becoming a graphic designer, “it doesn’t hurt to know what its components are and how they work.”
iLoveNgocLan.com received over 100 original copies of Ta Say, a collaboration with Duy Quang before Ngọc Lan stopped recording due to her illness. If you want to purchase the album and to support Ngọc Lan’s Charity Fund, email us at [email protected]. More info in Vietnamese here.
Dan: Daddy, what [are] you doing?
Dad: Sleeping.
Dan: I’m sleeping too.
Dad: You’re so cute.
Dan: No, I’m not cute. I’m a baby!
Dad: Your pee pee is yellow.
Dao: Because I drink a lot of orange juice.
Dad: What does Dan’s poop smell like? (Changing Dan’s diaper)
Dao: Gym socks.
Last night after giving Dan a bath and trying to put a diaper on him, he pointed to his thing and said, “My tadpole.” I was shocked. I had to ask him again to make sure if I heard him correctly, “Your what?” He replied, “My tadpole.” I do not know where he got that from, but I thought it was quite imaginative.
At bedtime, Dao picked up a Dr. Seuss’s book and said, “Can we read this book. It’s my favorite book called Close Your Eyes When You Read.” When he handed the book to me and the actual title is I Can Read With My Eyes Shut.
Being a parent is such a challenge. I didn’t expect it to be so stressful. I had no idea what I got myself into. I am not a good or a perfect parent. I still don’t have a clue what I am doing, but I am glad and thankful for to be a father.
When Dao turned terrible two, I was being very uptight with him. I didn’t want him to be disobedient. I didn’t want him to embarrass me. I didn’t want him to push me to the edge. I failed all three. There were times I just didn’t know what to do with him. I would let him scratched me, screamed or threw whatever tantrum. I was just being unresponsive. My only solution was that he would grow out of it and I am so glad that he had. He is much more reasonable and he’s no longer jealous of his little brother, expect for when they fought over toys. He’s being a really good brother. Dan picked up his speaking skills from interacting with his other brother.
Now that Dan is in his terrible-two state and he is much tougher than Dao, but he is not like Dao used to be. For my part, I am taking on a more relaxing approach. Because they can now play together, I let them enjoy themselves and just keep an eye on them from a distance. If they break into a fight, I could see who started the trouble. Again I don’t claim to be a good father and I am usually shy away from that compliment. I am just doing the best I can.
This mock interview is an assignment for my graduate course on professional design practices.
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mr. Jim Van Meer who is a creative services manager at the American Petroleum Institute (API) for a web design position. Even though I prepared a portfolio presentation to showcase my expertise in responsive web design, I didn’t talk about my work. Mr. Van Meer had something else in mind.
Right off the bat, he asked me whether I would be the survival of the fittest or the survival of the cooperative. I answered the latter. I do the best work in a team environment and I provided an example of how I collaborated with the talented designers and developers at Vassar college to not only meet deadlines, but also used the best individual skills for the job.
One of the most intriguing questions he asked me was on standards and how I would present complex information in a simple manor. Without much time to think, I gave an example of web standards. I often had to explain to clients, supervisors and novice web designers the important of web standards. My analogy to help them understand web standards was the example of a dishwasher. Let’s say that your dishwasher broke and you need a replacement. A standard size would allow you to pick out a new dishwasher without worrying if it would fit in your kitchen. If you design your site with web standards, you’ll make your life easier as well as those whose responsible for maintaining the site that you designed.
The last question he asked me was why manhole covers are rounded. I knew that the rounded shape would prevent the covers from dropping into the hole, but I couldn’t articulate the reasons for it. Sometimes when I think hard about a logical reason, I get blank out.
When it was my turn for questions, I asked Mr. Van Meer what he enjoyed most working here and he replied the trust the boss gave him, the flexibility as well as the creative freedom. In term of digital products and services, Mr. Van Meer would like to see API to be 100% web base, which includes online training, various devices and apps, in the next two years. The skillsets that Mr. Van Meer is looking to fill with a new hire are the ability to design and turning designs into web, app and digital medium.
After our interview, Mr. Van Meer explained that the questions he asked were to get to know the candidate. He wanted to see the candidate’s quick reaction as well as his ability to work in a creative yet demanding environment. The reason he didn’t want me to present my portfolio was that he already knew what I was capable of doing through my web site and portfolio. He said, “If I didn’t think you could do what we were looking for, I wouldn’t bring you in for an interview.”
I had learn a great deal through our interview and I hope I did well.