Parse notes
This is the latest in a string of Paint renovations. On September 7, Windows introduced one-click background removal, which detects subjects and cuts them smoothly out of the canvas. The most recent update supports transparency too. You can open PNGs, use the background removal tool to create a transparent backdrop, and even use the eraser tool to reveal content in layers underneath.
Bard can now find and show relevant information from the Google tools we use every day — Gmail, Docs, Drive, Maps, YouTube, Flights, and Hotels — even when the information needed is across multiple apps and services. Integration with other Google apps will make using Bard a more seamless experience, always at users’ fingertips, ready to help.
A new "Home" tab will improve content discoverability, helping users by providing entry to an exciting universe of stories, ideas, and people on Substack. The platform will also feature a swipeable queue of cards with posts from the user's subscriptions. The overall look and feel of Substack has also been changed, making it more similar to a social network app.
Where does persuasive UX end and manipulative UX begin? How do we achieve long-term user engagement without it being exploitative? Adding the pre-action step to the Hook model could enable critical thinking by informing and preparing users before they take an intended action.
Features without context or direct application to the problems they solve are useless. Though the features introduced at Apple’s latest event were accompanied by demonstrations, such as through promotional videos on Apple’s website and snazzy snippets during the release conference, their direct application to the problems we face in our daily lives is missing. Building systems that “just work” is good for sales and for a narrow set of universally shared, preexisting, shallow problem domains, but it won’t make us better problem solvers.
Midjourney is a game-changer for inspiration, allowing designers to explore an entirely new creative landscape. It's essential to understand the tool to make it behave more predictably. This article dives into prompt design, important parameters, how image generations fit into the design process, and how to iterate on the results.
A new tool to create beautiful, moving gradients with customizable shapes, colors, speed, and more. There is a web version, and plugins are available for Framer and Figma.
Upload zipped SVG icons and get optimized and ready-to-use framework components. Iconbundler can convert SVG into React, Vue, or Svelte components. It also comes with a Figma plugin.
Luro allows you to connect and sync components from Figma and Storybook. After syncing, you add the pages related to those components and track their adoption and usage stats.
Data-driven decision-making gets people into trouble for two reasons. The first is that we tend to put data on a pedestal, but then fail to think critically about how the data was generated and jump to conclusions. The second is that we’re asking the wrong questions. A decision-driven mindset should be adopted instead to lead with questions not answers, opportunities not solutions, challenges not consensus, dialog not arguments, and “I don’t know” instead of “I know.”
Hidden political messages. A logo that is loading forever. Body parts that should be hidden. Poor branding can be damaging... and funny.
Sleep tracking is just the beginning. Check out this peculiar view of the near future, which shows how technology might empower the creatives of tomorrow.
Survey for the 2023 “Why designers quit” report. Designer mass layoffs, AI disruption of the UX industry, high inflation worldwide… how did these factors impact designers and their careers?
Craftsmanship seems to be forgotten in the age of templates and frameworks. Good craftspeople understand the medium they work with and how people use the thing that was built. This is a prerequisite for creating things that are functional and resilient.
Branding is not only about its visual representation. Defining a brand's identity is critical to giving it a soul, engaging its audience, and multiplying its message. The principles of brand archetype provide an effective way for achieving that and more.