me?
What do I value as a designer?
- Stories. They are sugar coats to deliver abstract ideas and complicated concepts. Human experiences are the switch for us to pay attention, feel, and empathize.
- Collaboration. It is our beloved PMs and engineers' hard work that turns our cute pixels into actual products.
- Constraints. From the legendary lighting of black-and-white movies to the talking sound of Animal Crossing. Great work comes out of the relentless battle between creativity and constraints.
- Iteration and Growth Mindset. The ultimate truth of digital product lies in iterations. The first version just never works.
- Typography. Math, air, and space... Aesthetic is all about being able to control, right?
I play very mediocre drums
Great works that I admire.
- The structure of great talks by Nancy Duarte (18min Video)
- Redesigning Google Maps by Google (42min Video)
- Design for the iPadOS pointer by Apple (41min Video)
- A visual introduction of Fourier Transform by 3Blue1Brown (19min Video)
- CMU HCII Interaction Techniques by Brad Myers (course recording)
- What Remains of Edith Finch by Giant Sparrow (Game)
- The Lost Interview by Steve Jobs (Documentary)
- General Magic (Documentary)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch (Painting)
Is there a German word for 'cloud looks like snow mountain' ?
Fun Fact about my name.
薴(ning) is a substance called Limonene. It is the smell when you peel a citrus fruit
丹(dan) is a traditional pigment called cinnabar/朱砂. It's bright orange-red(vermillion) color is a symbol of auspiciousness in our culture.
laser cut acrylic name card
Beyond design, I find meanings in...
- Watching sunset
- Reading everything about food
- Writing blogs
- Watching cat sleep
- Drawing faces
