Ngoc Ngo » Portfolio

Info[od] Graphics

Ngoc — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:50:39 +0000

San Francisco’s Department of Public Health has made public its records of food establishment inspections in San Francisco as well as all consequent violations that may have resulted.

After conducting an inspection of a facility, the Health Inspector calculates a score based on the violations observed. Violations range from low risk—having no immediate risk to the public’s health and safety—to high risk—directly relating to the transmission of food borne illnesses, the adulteration of food products and the contamination of any food-contact surfaces. After completing an inspection, a score card is issued by the inspector and maintained at the food establishment.

To our benefit, a database of these inspections is made available online at www.datasf.org and contains records for all food establishments operating in San Francisco. The information graphics shown here are derived entirely from its data and reflects the Public Health Department’s assessments of food establishments inspected between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009.

Title: SFfood2009
Course: Information Design
Instructor: Bob Slote (500 Watts)
Academy of Art University
Spring 2010

UP/DOWN

Ngoc — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:00:59 +0000

I was asked to mentally and physically record things I saw, heard, touched and smelled as I went about my daily routine. These recordings became the fuel for writing and designing a book that would reflect a central theme developed from the daily observations. As a concept, I wanted to explore ways of going up and down a street in both literal and figurative senses.

Where I live in San Francisco, I walk a 15-block section of California Street between Van Ness Ave. and Market St. quite a bit. The street ascends up and over Nob Hill and descends down into the Financial district. In addition to the obvious physical aspect of walking up and down, I wanted the book to also explore the social and economic shifts that become apparent when crossing from one neighborhood to the next. In the end, the book manages to address both the physical and the metaphorical aspects all the while featuring photographs I took looking up into the sky as I went down the street.

Title: UP/DOWN the Street
Course: Typographic Experiments
Instructor: Stan Zienka (Attik)
Academy of Art University
Fall 2009

It’s Oh So Quiet

Ngoc — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:20 +0000

Taking inspiration from Björk’s It’s Oh So Quiet, a song off her album Post, I gathered and researched every idea, emotion, metaphor and visual that could be associated with the song. Based on the song title, I imagined a billowing storm cloud off in the horizon and that calmness that occurs just before the storm. With that, I designed and printed loose graphic & typographic elements onto transparent sheets.

Using projectors—one overhead and one laptop—I composed the sheets onto various surfaces to create what Stan Zienka refers to as “more dimensional” designs. Various pieces of paper, metal, plexi, etc. were overlayed in an experimental fashion with the graphic elements to create the right effect. In the end, the primary image was an un-photoshop’d photograph of the design blown up to a 18″ x 24″ poster. Only the treatment containing the full lyrics of the song at the bottom was digitally added in the end.

Title: It’s Oh So Quiet
Course: Typographic Experiments
Instructor: Stan Zienka (Attik)
Academy of Art University
Fall 2009

Lyrics: Björk

Augmentation

Ngoc — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:30:41 +0000

Given the word augmentation as a source of exploration, I used its letters, definition, my own thoughts and references to inspire posters portraying its meaning. As long as we were able to intelligently discuss our ideas, we were encouraged to consider every one of them, regardless of how abstract or odd they seemed to others.

Title: Augmentation 1 & 2
Course: Typographic Experiments
Instructor: Stan Zienka (Attik)
Academy of Art University
Fall 2009

Finding Your Way

Ngoc — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:54 +0000

If we consider all the advancements in navigational technology over the last half-century, it’s a sure bet that no one should ever find themselves lost in this day and age. Well, that all depends…

We now benefit from having tools that help us find our way, determine exactly where we are, allow us to assess where we’ve been and enable us to make informed decisions about where we want to go. And yet, with all the attention focused on ways to improve navigation of the physical landscape, few tools exist that assist emotional navigation—the act of making emotionally informed decisions based on one’s current state in order to arrive at a preferred state. This thesis offers aid to navigate that emotional landscape.

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UPDATE: See what this has evolved to over at the thesis blog

Earth-Conscious Eating

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:24 +0000

Many of us make smart, informed food choices that support a healthy body. Many of us don’t, nor do we fully comprehend the consequences of what we eat. However (and this is true of both camps) there are many more who neglect to consider the health of our planet when it comes to making food choices. Are we informed enough about the environmental impacts of agriculture and food production to make earth-conscious choices regarding what we eat?

This book looks at environmental impacts at each stage of the food chain—agriculture, food processing & manufacturing, transportation & distribution, consumption and waste—and presents five opportunity gaps where design can offer change.

Title: Earth-Conscious Eating
Course: Visual Communications, Instructors: Phil Hamlett & Hunter Wimmer
Academy of Art University
Spring 2009

An Invitation to Learn

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:00:59 +0000

As a way to develop further insight for the Earth-Conscious Eating book, I hosted a dinner party and distilled my topic into an invitation that tested how I would communicate the topic while encouraging interest at the same time. The invitation needed to provide an overview of the topic and why it was worth pursuing—even for an evening. The format of the invitation was open for interpretation, so I chose to keep it fresh, clean and simple; exactly how a good meal should be.

In addition to the invitation, the set includes a planning guide which provides the timeline for the evening, guest profiles, details about earth-conscious items on the menu, and a list of questions/concerns to inspire conversation. Each guest was given a take-away box containing additional information and suggestions for further reading.

Title: Earth-Conscious Dinner Party
Course: Visual Communications, Instructors: Phil Hamlett & Hunter Wimmer
Academy of Art University
Spring 2009

Web of Impact

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:00:32 +0000

Everything is connected. Our choices affect the world and can have impact on the economy, the environment, politics, education and culture. Seeing the lines drawn between elements that I wouldn’t have considered related shows the impact of my work in the overall affairs of the world.

Title: Web of Impact
Course: Visual Communications, Instructors: Phil Hamlett & Hunter Wimmer
Academy of Art University
Spring 2009

Anadromous

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:00:37 +0000

I was asked to design a book on any topic of my choice so long as it was a story of survival and offered ample scientific data for information design. The goal was to convey a clear typographic hierarchy and to apply a careful typographic sensibility to the topic. I chose to design a book about salmon migration because it allowed me to explore concepts relating to river flow, water levels, fish scales and dams. Ultimately, my concept was to create “rivers” in the column gutters so that a reader could move along as the salmon do downstream. These rivers widen and narrow from spread to spread and snake its way throughout the course of the journey.

The title of the book is a classification of Pacific Northwest salmon. They are considered anadromous fish that spend much of their lives in the ocean but migrate back to freshwater to spawn.

Title: Anadromous: Surviving the Journey Downstream and Back Again
Course: Type Systems, Instructor: Carolina De Bartolo
Academy of Art University
Spring 2009

Text: Courtesy of the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources

1939 Golden Gate Int’l Expo

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:00:17 +0000

In 1939, San Francisco hosted its own World’s Fair to celebrate the opening of the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge that year. Now celebrating its 70th anniversary, this website promotes a special gallery exhibit opening in the Presidio and showcases original photography of Treasure Island’s famed architecture & attractions using an interactive map.

Click here to view the prototype of the website. Want more information about the fair’s history? Watch a video or read about it here.

Title: 70th Anniversary website for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition
Course: Digital Design Studio, Instructor: Mauro Cavalletti (R/GA)
Academy of Art University
Spring 2009