My go-to sans serif typeface is Andrian Frutiger’s Univers. Its family has grown to 44 different weights and styles. You can’t get any more versatile than that. For serif, my go-to typeface is Robert Slimbach’s Minion. It’s a vanilla text face that gets out of the way.
Emil Ruder’s Typographie is a classic reference that is still relevant today. It’s a quick read with tons of visual examples.
Good typesetting is a craft and skill set that you will spend your whole career trying to master.
There is very little design where type does not make up over 50 percent of the graphic communication. So learn to use it like you learned to walk or ride a bike, as you will always need to be able to control it. Good type makes or breaks a job.
Three words to describe student: Rational, impulsive, sweet.
Likes to play with: Dao enjoys playing with trains, blocks and Legos. He loves to work at our writing center. He also enjoys going to art.
Child’s strength: Dao has shown amazing improvement in his participation during discussions. He also contributes to class discussions. He also is now willing to try new things and enjoys art. His writing skills have improved. Dao builds friendship easily.
Areas we are working on: Dao’s tantrums have become more extreme. He is less easily pacified than in the past. We are working on controlling his temper.
Jewish comedian Elon Gold takes race to whole new level. His sex marriage is spot on. Chosen & Taken is available on NetFlix. Also worth watching is Christian Finnegan’s The Fun Part. He packed tons of witty commentaries on politics as well as sex at 40s.
Ironically I just finished a course on professional design practices that taught me most of the skills Phil Cleaver wrote in his new book titled What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School. Similar to the topics in the book, we worked on our resume, business card, leave behind, video resume and portfolio. We discussed extensively on job interview, freelance and presentational skills. This book would have been a perfect companion for that class. Prof. Phil has some good tips on typography and responsive web design. What makes the book stood out is the design of the book itself. The typesetting is beautiful and the typographic puns are a visual pleasure. I am definitely recommending it to the teacher to be used for his next class, but this is also a great guide for graduating students looking to get their foot in the door.
Last night’s portfolio presentation wrapped up the spring 2014 semester. Instead of doing an independent study for one credit, I opted in for a forth seminar. The focus on analog type turned out to fun even though I am horrible with doing crafts with my hands. The projects were somewhat challenging, but they gave me an opportunity to play. I had a blast handcrafting types.
The 4-credit Professional Design Practices turned out to be very useful. The class helped me improve my presentation skills. I am now more confidence in talking and showing my work to a small crowd. We also had lectures came to teach us speaking skills, inform us about the industry and share their experience in the work force. The professor was encouraging and sharing.
The workload was not so bad. Even though I enjoyed the classes, I am ready for the summer. We already have a few vacation spots planned. I can’t wait to spend time with my lovely girl and boys and catching up on readings.
This is a portfolio presentation for my final project in a class on professional design practices. I was not interviewed a for job at Big Spaceship.
Thank you for the opportunity to present my work. I have been a huge fan of Big Spaceship many years ago when Michael, the founder, came to Vassar to speak about his projects at the agency. I knew I wanted to work here one day.
To begin, I would like to share a fun app based on a project called Sketches of Miles. The intention of the app is to let users create their own artwork based on Miles Davis’s records. The app featured a straightforward, intuitive interface to let users play and share their sketches of Miles.
Vietjazz is a recording company I created for a branding class. The concept was to connect Vietnamese ballad with jazz. I designed the logo, stationery, and applications. I also developed a responsive web site for the brand guidelines.
For the movie poster, the goal was to redesign an existing piece using type and then redesign it again in the opposite genre. I selected Donnie Darko, which is a horror film. For the horror version, I chose Trajan Pro for its sharp serifs. For the comedy version, I chose the cherish Cooper Black.
The film ratings system is a redesign project to improve the visual information of the five major ratings. The new system uses visual progression to give viewers clear indication of each rating. I chose Adrian Frutiger’s Univers for its simplicity and legibility.
For motion design, I am interested in the storytelling aspect of it. Go the Fuck to Sleep is a story that I could relate to as a father of two toddlers. After hearing Samuel L. Jackson reading the story, I had to create a typographic motion piece based on his narration.
“Please Give Me” is a personal piece for me. Back when my wife and I were still dating, she sent me an article that talked about how the victims of Agent Orange, especially children, were forgotten. After reading the article, I wanted to create something to raise awareness of the forgotten victims. I reached out to photographer Justin Maxon, whose photos were featured in the article, to see if he would let me use his work to create a slideshow. He sent me a handful of hi-res images for me to use. For the music, I chose a particular singer not only because her emotional vocals, but because of her background. She grew up poor and has a facial disfigured because her family couldn’t effort the proper treatment. When she sang this song, I could feel that was living it. Let me give you a short translation of the lyrics:
Please give me mother’s embracing arms
Please let me hear the joyful sound of children’s footsteps
Please let my country has a peaceful sleep
I’ll love you from that moment on.
Please let me come back in one body
To let me hear nature’s songs
Please let me forget imprisonment
To let me be the bitter wine
Please give me the whole life
So one day when a child sings in his cradle
Please, just give me one day.
Ms. Geisel:
After some singing and dancing, the children sat quietly to listen to Ms. Geisel read, “Can I Play, Too?” A story about a little snake who wanted to play catch with his friend the elephant and piggy but had no arms to catch with! The children were so bummed each time the snake missed the ball, saying in unison, “He has no arms!” Dan seemed very concerned that the snake kept getting hit with the ball shouting, “Ouch! That hurt! Is snake ok?” It was great seeing our Hummingbirds’ empathic side shine through during the story.
A few words to describe student: Active, friendly, loving, curious, expressive.
Likes to play with: Dan loves anything that moves. Cars, trains, planes, and trucks. He likes to build tall towers using anything he can stack. Dan is also very social and always loves playing with his friends. He is very active and loves to jump, run, dance, and play with balls.
Child’s strength: Except during drop off time in the morning, Dan is a very happy little boy. He is very smart and vocal and especially loves to point different things out during story and circle time. he plays very nicely with his friends, especially during gym time and playground time. Dan is also very empathetic and quick to give hug and words of advice to any friend that is not feeling happy.
Areas we are working on: We’re trying to work on making drop off time a bit easier. Dan is making progress. Only a few minutes after mom and dad leave, he is ready to join his friends. Also, we have begun talking about when mom and dad come back. Sometimes, if he is teary during the day, we ask him “When do mommy and daddy come?” He says, “After nap.” And that usually calms him.
From yesterday’s daily activity report:
The Hummingbird class was in motion this morning! Dan, Daniel, Becca, Aaron, and Alexa all ran to the basket of trains as soon as we got to the classroom. We asked them where their trains were going… Dan scooted his train all around the circle table and said “He’s going to see Daddy.”
As soon as Ms. Geisel announced it was time for Show and Share, Liz turned to Ms. Ali with a great big smile on her face. Then, Dan stood up to tell the class that his “daddy got me new clothes.”
Dan has been extremely closed to me. He makes me feel loved and very special. His favorite bedtime book is The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree. At first, he was a little scared, but now he loves reading it. He now weighs as much as his older brother. He has been talking a lot as well, but he has started to stutter when he tries to find the right words to say. For example the other day he saw a girl held a book, he told me, “Look daddy, look daddy, look daddy, look daddy, it’s Frozen.” I love this kid even though he is way too active for me.