TLDR DESIGN 2024-07-26

6 LOGOS IN 3 HOURS: KAMALA HARRIS' DESIGN TEAM SHARES HOW IT APPROACHED THE HISTORIC CAMPAIGN REBRAND

Kamala Harris's design team created a new brand for her presidential campaign, including a logo, ads, print collateral, and a website, in just 26 hours after Joe Biden decided not to seek reelection. The final "Harris for President" logo, which resembles Biden's with a seriffed "for" in Frame Italic, was swiftly approved by her campaign leadership. Further brand evolution is expected once a running mate is chosen.

RUNWAY'S AI VIDEO GENERATOR TRAINED ON THOUSANDS OF SCRAPED YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Runway's AI text-to-video generator was trained using thousands of YouTube videos and pirated films sourced from significant entertainment channels and news outlets. The broad dataset includes videos from Netflix, Disney, and creators like MKBHD and Linus Tech Tips. YouTube's CEO noted that using its videos for AI training is a policy violation, but other prominent tech firms have also been linked to similar practices.

SONOS CEO APOLOGIZES FOR DISASTROUS ROLLOUT OF NEW APP

The Sonos app redesign aimed to modernize and enhance user experience but faced significant backlash due to bugs and missing features. CEO Patrick Spence has responded to critics, issued an apology, and outlined a roadmap for continual bi-weekly updates to address these issues and improve functionality. Key improvements will focus on stability, music library capabilities, volume responsiveness, and restoring playlist editing features.

HOW TO CREATE A TIMELESS LOGO

Creating a timeless logo is a dream for brand designers. Successful companies like Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola serve as prime examples. A critical factor in making a timeless logo is the company's long-term success and market leadership rather than the logo's graphical qualities alone. Having a logo designed by a renowned designer, avoiding trendy gimmicks, and meticulously sweating the details contributes to creating a logo that stands the test of time.

A WASTED LIFE

James Wright's poem, "Lying in a Hammock," ends with the line, "I have wasted my life," sparking reflection on the narrator's existence. This contemplation aligns with Hannah Arendt's vita activa and vita contemplativa concepts, where creativity bridges the gap between thought and tangible reality. Design, like poetry, transforms abstract ideas into enduring artifacts, contributing meaningfully to the world despite the pressures of modern capitalism.

GREAT DESIGN ISN'T PIXEL PERFECT

While perfectionism in design ensures high-quality output, it can hinder timely product delivery, especially in startups. A pixel-perfect obsession is common early in a design career, but seasoned designers should focus on solving user problems rather than flawless visuals. Balancing clear goals, planning, seeking feedback, and knowing when to step back helps manage perfectionist tendencies and promotes effective, timely solutions.

MUSHO

Musho is an AI-powered creative assistant in Figma that turns prompts into designs for websites, slides, and branding.

COLOR AI

This tool uses AI to help you find and generate perfect color palettes with sensory and cultural references for your projects.

SEE HOW CONSUMERS ENGAGE WITH YOUR DESIGNS BEFORE THE LAUNCH

Attention Insight provides AI-powered heatmaps and visual attention analysis to help optimize designs, ensuring key elements capture viewer focus for more effective user engagement.

SYNTHETIC USERS

Run your user and market research with human-like AI participants.

THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF GOOD DESIGN

Design significantly influences a brand's success and user experience, though its value may be subjective and not immediately appreciated by clients. To bridge the value gap, designers should focus on communicating the importance of their work through value, data, and problem-solving while understanding and explaining the "why" behind UI design practices.

STUDIO NARI'S BRAND IDENTITY FOR LIVING THINGS MAKES GUT HEALTH LOOK FUN... AND PRETTY REFRESHING

Studio Nari developed a vibrant brand identity for Living Things, a probiotic soda for health-conscious Gen Z and millennial consumers. The design features playful and approachable visuals, including customized wordmarks and lively sticker graphics, to convey the brand's feel-good and health-focused message and ensure that it stands out in trendy delis and supermarkets.

GOING OFFROAD FOR A BETTER DESIGN SYSTEM

The Nissan Xterra exemplifies structured flexibility in design with its interchangeable components providing robust adaptability. Similarly, Cisco's Momentum design system leverages tokens for scalable, flexible design across 30+ products. Momentum empowers designers by balancing structure and flexibility through components, training, and user feedback, ensuring workflow consistency and adaptability.

WAIT, THE OLYMPIC RINGS WEREN'T ALWAYS THE SAME COLORS?

The Olympic rings, one of the world's most recognized sports logos, have seen design modifications since their creation in 1913.

META LAUNCHES AI SELFIE GENERATOR ‘IMAGINE ME'

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR'S NEW TOOL MAKES HI-FI PRODUCT MOCK-UPS AS EASY AS DRAG AND DROP

The new Mockup tool in Adobe Illustrator simplifies the creation of product mock-ups by allowing designers to drag and drop logos and graphics onto images of products like cans or product packaging.