September 4th, 2010

Sneak Preview of the Electric Guitar Experience

Quick tour of the very early stages of The Electric Guitar Experience. Other very cool feats: You will be able to build your own rack and timelines.

August 20th, 2010

A product under the microscope: The Townhouse Robe

Checking in to your hotel room after a long trip also means it’s time to relax. Most hotels offer plethora of commodities which purpose is to make your stay pleasant.
New York brand Matters of Leisure created the “Townhouse Robe” to answer to the problem of a bathrobe not in par with the other features. The Townhouse robe, made of light fabric, doesn’t feel like wearing a heavy, cumbersome coat every time you step out of the shower. It also reconnects with the traditional style of the Sean Connery era of James Bond, where everything wearable is tailor fit. Nguma was asked to create a animated presentation of the robe, that would explain all the details that makes this robe special.

You can learn more about the townhouse robe at www.mattersofleisure.com

August 17th, 2010

August 16th, 2010

Biz’s summer of love. Rule #2: Take a break.

Press pause for a second, or a minute, or even a week. Taking a break is not just a way to play air guitar, it’s an open door for new inspiration to flow in, and a great way to get a pair of fresh eyes over your endeavor. Which got us wonder what would the big brands do if we were all in vacation… Watch, and whatever weather you get out there, hope you’re enjoying the summer.

August 12th, 2010

The new rules of business. Rule #1: Love what you do

Here is why you should love what you do.

August 8th, 2010

Stars at night

There was more than one night lit by fireworks during our time in ST Jean Cap Ferrat, but that one was just spectacular. No better than Miles Davis to tell the story.

July 1st, 2010

Are you electrically experienced?

It would be absurd to talk about electric guitars without talking about music. So when I undertook the project of making a timeline about the history of electric guitars, it naturally turned very rock and roll… inside and out. Starting from the 30s, decades in music consecutively flooded Nguma’s itunes playlists, with surges of Wes Montgomery, Link Wray and, of course, Led Zep.

Studying vintage guitar models doesn’t go without side effects. I quickly felt like a kid in a candy store. I also felt plastered with shame for not having started a personal collection yet. (Owning a PRS SE custom doesn’t qualify, even if it’s actually a pretty good budget guitar.)

So, how do you start a guitar collection? What should be my first pick? Hard not to have a gargantuan appetite with such a menu. Rickenbacker’s Model B lap steel is a beast with a wild roar (1936!), while every lick from an original Gibson SG would burn like the flames of hard rock hell.
Well give me a bit more time for making a choice. In the meantime, you got a peak at what’s coming. The Electric Guitar Timeline is an inhouse project, and is backed by the best investors in town: Pat Sion, Fred Will and Gene Rossity.  Got curiosity? Want to help? Drop a note to info@nguma.com.

March 26th, 2010

Modeling Data

Modeling data for Matters of Leisure

I work on a 13″ Macbook. Having to move quite a lot, I find it much handier than the larger sizes, but from time to time, I get frustrated at being restrained to such limited visual space. In those precise moments, even a professional diagramming tool doesn’t replace a good old writeboard. Problem: There was no writeboard at hand, and I needed to lay down the basic architecture for the underlying data of a new project. Post-its and red tape helped get a clearer vision of how data should be structured, and tackle many issues before running into them.

The result was both satisfying, both from a useful standpoint as from an aesthetic one. No matter which stage you are at web development, there’s always an artistic side to it.

- Gregory Mirzayantz

March 15th, 2010

59 Years of Energy consumption in the US

February 25th, 2010

Random Light

Our latest project got us involved in the intricate world of analytics and infographics. To the occasion, we had to roll up our sleeves and dig back into the archive for some flash work. All for good, since I stumbled upon a few experiments, such as this one. All of it was done with Flash 6(!) and basically work out of a randomization and a seed system. For your eyes only…