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Figma Brand Refresh 🎨, iOS 18 Updates 📱, Unreadable Type Trend ✍️

TLDR Design <dan@tldrnewsletter.com>

September 17, 12:08 pm

TLDR Design
Figma's new brand refresh focuses on versatile primitives, dynamic compositions, an expanded color palette, and integrated motion principles 

TLDR

TLDR Design 2024-09-17

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News & Trends

Figma on Figma: Evolving our visual language (4 minute read)

Over the past decade, Figma has evolved from a design tool to an ecosystem supporting entire product teams. Its new brand refresh focuses on versatile primitives, dynamic compositions, an expanded color palette, and integrated motion principles, creating a flexible visual language. Inspired by playgrounds and collaborative activities, the refreshed identity reflects Figma's diverse user base and interactions. This reimagined design system, featuring bold shapes and vibrant colors, emphasizes adaptability and collaboration, pointing to Figma's future growth.
iOS 18 is available today, making iPhone more personal and capable than ever (5 minute read)

iOS 18 is now available, with enhanced personalization for the Home Screen and Control Center, a major Photos redesign, and improved features in Messages and Mail. Users can customize app icons, widgets, and the Control Center layout, while Photos now offers on-device intelligence to organize content automatically. The new Apple Intelligence feature will roll out next month, providing privacy-focused AI tools integrated deeply into iOS 18. Additional updates include enhancements to Safari, a new Passwords app, improved connectivity options, and expanded functionalities for AirPods and Apple Pay.
Unreadable Typography is the Latest Trend in Logo Design (3 minute read)

Minimalist logo design is giving way to more complex, maximalist trends in branding. Fashion designer Katarzyna Konieczka's new chaotic logo exemplifies this shift, reflecting her gothic-inspired style. Brands like Burberry, Puig, and Loewe, influenced by nostalgia and higher-resolution screens, are embracing unique, personality-driven designs, moving away from the streamlined aesthetics of recent years.
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Opinions & Tutorials

The Hidden Power of Typography (11 minute read)

Typography profoundly impacts how we perceive information, influencing belief, creativity, and critical thinking. Studies show good design increases engagement and effectiveness. Microsoft's long investment in typography, from TrueType to Aptos, highlights design's power, underscoring its crucial role in communication and persuasion.
Why Your Shadows (Might) Suck (7 minute read)

Creating realistic shadows in digital design involves layering to replicate natural light and adjusting colors to match the background. Consistent light sources, negative spread, and suitable shadow sizes for different elements enhance the visual effect. Hightouch's revamped shadow system prioritizes simplicity and clarity, improving the overall cohesiveness and usability.
Simplicity — On removing complexity to add meaning (6 minute read)

Simplicity in design involves thoughtful reduction, prioritization, and organization to create a coherent and familiar user experience, even in feature-rich products. Beyond minimalism, simplicity should be prioritized in all aspects of work, considering technology's operational, personal, and societal impact.
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Launches & Tools

Similayer (Figma plugin)

Similayer allows you to work with multiple layers in your design. It enables one to find and select specific elements based on various criteria, such as their layer type, color, font, or stroke properties.
Advanced Midjourney Library (Website)

Midlibrary is an advanced library of genres, artistic movements, techniques, titles, and artists' styles for Midjourney.
Free Avatar Images from Across the Web (Website)

Avatars is a collection of diverse free avatar images from across the web designed to add personality to your projects.
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Miscellaneous

Defying norms at -21°: how Cotton Design weaves technology and art into Backslash's visual language (4 minute read)

Cotton Design created a new brand identity for Backslash, using the backslash (\) as a visual motif to symbolize escape and nonlinear thinking. The rebrand includes a custom interactive typeface, \Type, a modified version of Werk Sans, and a website with diagonal scrolling and weaving-inspired patterns, reflecting the organization's fusion of technology and art.
Why is It Cool to Hate on Design Systems? (4 minute read)

While criticism of design systems has grown, they remain essential for speed and flexibility in product development, especially for startups. Simple components like buttons, typography, and colors offer high ROI without the complexity of enterprise systems. Reframing them as "design toolkits" emphasizes their practical value for all products.
ROI of UX: How to Prove the Value of Good User Experience (13 minute read)

Good UX enhances customer satisfaction, retention, and conversions, potentially boosting conversions by up to 400% and reducing support costs. Measuring UX ROI with metrics like conversion rates and revenue per user helps secure stakeholder buy-in and ensures alignment with business goals for continuous optimization.

Quick Links

Designing tomorrow: Essential futuring tactics for innovators (4 minute read)

Combine design thinking with the foresight to innovate and anticipate emerging trends.
Top 13 AI Tools for Design Ideation (9 minute read)

From UX design platforms like UX Pilot and FigJam AI to versatile tools like ChatGPT and Notion AI, designers can now explore endless creative possibilities, streamline workflows, and deliver impactful experiences.
Design Sprints Extended: Design on Track (9 minute read)

Design Sprints, a structured, collaborative process for rapid design testing and iteration, offer benefits, but also have limitations for complex projects, necessitating adaptations like Design Steps, Runs, and Relays.

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Thanks for reading,
Jae Lee, Matej Latin & Ralph Brinker


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