Apple's Intro Specifically Pays Tribute to the Jobs+Jony Ive Era of Design (And Ignores the Vision Pro) (3 minute read)
Apple's September event opened with an unusual 90-second tribute to the Jobs and Jony Ive design era that showcased iconic design elements across Apple's product lineup. The homage notably excluded meaningful coverage of the Vision Pro, showing only a brief one-second shot of its crown despite the headset representing a significant design investment. The tribute also unusually highlighted Apple Store architecture worldwide, suggesting the company wanted to celebrate its design legacy spanning both products and retail spaces.
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New emojis will include Bigfoot, orca whale, treasure chest, and more (2 minute read)
The Unicode Consortium has announced its next batch of emojis, arriving next year, including a trombone, treasure chest, bulging-eyes face, fight cloud, apple core, orca, gender-neutral ballet dancer, landslide, and Bigfoot. The update will also expand skin tone options for multi-person emojis, such as dancers and wrestlers.
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How to Build a Resilient Design Team (11 minute read)
Figma design manager Jonas Downey outlines seven strategies for building resilient design teams that can adapt to rapid technological changes and high-pressure environments. Key approaches include prioritizing team health through open communication and realistic workloads, encouraging experimentation across traditional role boundaries, and treating craft as a competitive differentiator. Downey emphasizes building cross-functional bridges, implementing just enough process to avoid stifling creativity, scaling teams intentionally rather than filling headcount, and incorporating levity to maintain team morale during challenging periods.
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Design x AI: Proving What's Possible (3 minute read)
A working AI-powered proof of concept was created in one hour using Cursor and Figma MCP after stakeholders doubted the technical feasibility of a brand expression feature idea. The prototype automatically extracts brand colors from any website, converts low-quality logos into crisp SVG vectors, and previews different color combinations for brands. It shows how modern design leaders must be hands-on with AI tools and technical building to lead teams and collaborate with engineering effectively.
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“Take your pleasure seriously”: why joy sustains serious work (7 minute read)
Design can ease workplace mental strain not just by function, but by perception and delight. Research like the Hitachi ATM study (aesthetic–usability effect) and NASA's Task Load Index show that attractive, simplified designs reduce cognitive load, while examples from Asana, Slack, and the Eames Office illustrate how small sparks of joy and playfulness make tools feel more human and manageable.
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The First 30 Seconds: How to Show Value in AI Product Onboarding (14 minute read)
AI product onboarding should prioritize personalization and immediate value delivery over traditional feature walkthroughs, with 80-90% of trials occurring on Day 0, making those first moments critical. Effective flows start with simple questions, build context-aware personalization that adapts to user input, and reward effort with tangible results rather than promises. The strongest approach enables users to create real value during onboarding, transforming the experience from passive demonstration into active participation that builds momentum toward conversion.
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Unstructured Input in AI Apps Instead of Web Forms (2 minute read)
AI applications can now replace traditional web forms by allowing users to submit information in any format—images, PDFs, audio, or text—while AI models handle the conversion to structured database entries. This approach utilizes systems like AgentDB's templating, allowing users to say "add this" and upload unstructured content, such as Instagram screenshots, for a concert tracker. The AI extracts required information (show, date, venue, etc.) and formats it properly for the database, eliminating the need for people to adapt their input to rigid form fields.
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Jae Lee, Matej Latin & Ralph Brinker
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