Ngoc Ngo

Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos augmented-reality maps

Ngoc — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:00:29 +0000

In his inspiring presentation at TED2010 this month, Blaise Aguera y Arcas made a statement that struck a cord with me. He said that “mapping is not just about cartography; it’s also about imagery.” He and hia team demostrate the potential for layering user-generated photos (using Photosynth of Flickr photos) and even video (via telepresence using backpack cameras) over Bing maps.

TED

Materials Matrix

Ngoc — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:55:21 +0000

During the midpoint proposal, I was asked to commit to a list of deliverables. To make sense of them, I created a materials matrix to help visualize how they relate to one another.

For this thesis project, there are four sets of deliverables:

Primary Deliverables
Branding/Identity
Products
Services

Primary Deliverables accounts for final artifacts which encapsulate the thesis project in its entirety. Branding/Identity accounts for work contributing to overall recognition of the company’s brand. Products accounts for the company’s merchandise (either physical or virtual). Services accounts for various aides which make up the rest of the company’s offerings.

In addition, the matrix groups each deliverable within six design disciplines:

Print Design
Information Design
Web + Interaction Design
Mobile + Interaction Design
Package Design
Industrial Design

Production Timeline

Ngoc — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:09:46 +0000

To make sure my thesis doesn’t get out from under me, I created this plan to help keep me on track. Designed to be usable, portable and visually pleasing, it ultimately needs to provide me (and my advisors) with an easy-to-follow overview of my progress.

To view to full timeline, click here.

Graduate Student Showcase

Ngoc — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:00:47 +0000

Download a PDF of my thesis proposal from the showcase, or take a look at it in one of my earlier posts here.

New Lime Colony album

Ngoc — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:27:10 +0000

I’m really excited for these guys and the upcoming release of their self-titled debut album. So excited in fact that I can’t keep from posting a peek at the album cover. It’s just a snippet; don’t want to completely ruin the surprise.

Something we can all look forward to

Ngoc — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:51:01 +0000

Physical navigation, as I see it, is making sense of information, direction and locality. In recent years (and certainly in years to come), a new technological innovation has evolved that will change how we view and traverse the physical world. Augmented Reality (AR)—overlaying computer-generated imagery onto a live view of the physical world through the use of a camera device or viewer—combined with GPS technology will enable us to see information displayed in front of our eyes that is relevant to our current location.

I’m really excited to see the progress we’ll make with AR in 2010. In particular, I’m excited to explore how I may potentially incorporate it into my thesis. Since information, direction and locality are important elements in physical navigation, I make the observation that navigation in the emotional sense employs the same elements but to a different end. In other words, if we can potentially use AR to improve wayfinding (providing driving directions, pin-pointing nearby POIs, locating the nearest restrooms, etc.), why not use it to improve our emotional well-being as well?

I came across this video created by Keiichi Matsuda that exaggerates the future of AR but also opens our eyes to what’s to come. Designers should look at it as a reference for “What NOT to do.”

Dyana Weissman featured in FontCast #7

Ngoc — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:54:59 +0000

Dyana Weissman was an instructor at Type Camp in 2008 when I met her. Fifteen “typophiles” from all over the world came together to beautiful Galiano Island (off the coast of Vancouver) to share an amazing week of typographic learning, creating and appreciation. Our three instructors—Dyana, Shelley Gruendler and Tiffany Wardle—were extremely knowledgeable on the subject, and it was clear that their love for typography was beyond mastery level.

Seeing Dyana featured here in FontShop’s FontCast #7 brought back all the wonderful memories I had from Type Camp. As she did then, Dyana talks about her love of kerning in a way that’s educational, approachable and inspirational.

Feltron 2009 Annual Report

Ngoc — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:12:35 +0000

Without hesitation, I just ordered my copy of Nicholas Felton’s latest annual report. The printed edition of the report is being letterpressed by Swayspace in Brooklyn, New York. It is 16 pages and printed using 4 colors on 80 lb. French Durotone cover stock, and will be individually numbered, signed and mailed in March. Order yours here.

Each day in 2009, I asked every person with whom I had a meaningful encounter to submit a record of this meeting through an online survey. These reports form the heart of the 2009 Annual Report. From parents to old friends, to people I met for the first time, to my dentist… any time I felt that someone had discerned enough of my personality and activities, they were given a card with a URL and unique number to record their experience.

— Nicholas Felton

What’s the Big Idea?

Ngoc — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:38:11 +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.

Font Aid IV: A Call to Action

Ngoc — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:47:54 +0000

Type designers, graphic designers and other artists from around the world are invited to contribute artwork to be included in a typeface created exclusively for the Font Aid IV effort. The theme of Font Aid IV is Coming Together which will be represent through a font consisting entirely of ampersands. Coming Together will be made available for sale through several type distributors, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. SOTA, a US-based non-profit, is acting as a non-partisan organizing body to help coordinate the effort and ensure all funds are distributed appropriately. Everyone is encouraged to help the cause by spreading the word to friends and colleagues. Read more about this and SOTA’s past efforts here.

Included in the typeface is this ampersand I designed:

UPDATE: The typeface is now available for purchase through Veer, Ascender Fonts, FontShop and MyFonts.