brian ngan

What's The Meaning Of Your Art?

“People often ask me, what is the meaning of your art or why.”

Simple Pages: Berkshire Hathaway

1This is part of my ongoing attempt to find simpler pages that solve real problems.

Redesign: Simpler Lines

Understated Design: Substraction

We inherit the designs of our time. For most designers in the here and now, we are, whether we claim to be conscious of it or not, complicit in propagating the designs of our time.

Culture: Create Shocking Rules

One of the more profound examples of second-order thinking comes from Ben Horowitz. In his book, What You Do Is Who You Are, he describes the use of a shocking rule to provokes his men into raising a “Why?” to instil a culture.

Reaffirming: Bullshit Jobs

Bullshit Jobs is an important book to me. It struck a chord with me when observing my work environment in marketing at the largest news organisation in Singapore.

A Product Manager Reads Creative Selection

Creative Selection describes Apple’s product development process during the creation of Safari, Mail, iPhone and iPad. It was an approach that was characterised by prototype demos and feedback.

How To Do Better Retrospectives?

I hate Retrospectives. It’s an expensive and time-wasting meeting. I don’t see real problems being aired and addressed. Rather, I see a lot of self-promotion and a pinch of git-blames going around.

The Freedom We Run Away From

We are condemned to be free. Because once you are thrown into the world, you are responsible for all that you do. Jean-Paul Sartre describes us as radically free. Free to choose from a dizzying array of options at every turn. Even while there are things that are inherently outside of our control, we are free. We are free to at least choose how to react to what has been done to us.

What is Good UI Design?

When thinking about whether user interaction is good, it helps to keep in mind:

The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements

Readers have two ways of interpreting the book. The kind interpretation is that the book warns readers of the cyclical nature of social revolutions, religious movements and nationalist movements; warning readers that the prerequisites of mass movements are always there. The less kind interpretation is that the book provides a play-by-play for creating your first cult.

Genie: COVID-19 Auto Financial Loan Scheme

Photonico: UGC Photo Contest

Daily UI: Landing Page

Daily UI: Credit Card Checkout

Daily UI: Sign Up

Daily UI: App Icon

Reflecting on: This Is Water

In the speech titled This Is Water, David Foster Wallace suggests a nascent idea of what the point of it all is:

Remote: Office Not Required

Right now, as COVID changes the way we work, it’s the ideal time to relook the ideas in the book. I found three ideas in the book to be particularly meaningful:

An introduction to Zen Buddhism: D. T. Suzuki

What I like about the Zen practice is that it brings attention to something that is always there - the free, quiet and sufficient mind. In today’s busy, complex and anxiety-inducing landscape, Zen feels as relevant today as it did during its ancient origins.

Hypocognition: Missing The Words

A lot of life is about understanding and representing the real world. Words play a critical role in helping us to both internalise and socialise the ideas in our heads. We describe discrete objects with nouns, interactions with verbs, relationships with adjectives and so on.

Product Management: White Space Discipline

White space (or negative space) is a photography term to describe the empty space of a photo. This empty space allows an audience to experience three things: clearer composition, breathing room, and an emphasis on the important details.

Kierkegaard: Busyness As A Vice

A reminder on busyness and existence:

The SEO Game

Be me. Took part in the SEO Game.

The Way Of Zen

This book has three great ideas that have changed my thinking:

Taste: A Concept at Work Nobody Talks About

In the workplace, taste is an unspoken concept that underpins all business decisions. Words, in the form of explanations and design rationales, only go so far in capturing the thought processes behind the idea or approval. The rest is up to the employee’s or the manager’s sense of taste.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

For Zen students, the most important thing is not to be dualistic. Our “original mind” includes everything within itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. this does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything.. In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, there are few.

A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind

Why monks are so fastidious and disciplined when it comes to doing chores. Because this mindset turns mundane routine tasks into daily invitations to be mindful and grateful.