CharacterAI Removes Disney Characters After Receiving Cease-and-desist Letter (1 minute read)
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI demanding the removal of its copyrighted characters from the chatbot platform, citing trademark infringement and concerns about sexually exploitative content that could harm children and damage Disney's reputation. The AI chatbot service, which enables users to create digital companions based on real people and fictional characters, has removed major Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Captain America, from its search results. However, some Disney-owned properties, such as Percy Jackson and Hannah Montana, remain accessible on the platform.
|
Microsoft's New Office Icons are More Curvy and Colorful (2 minute read)
Microsoft is unveiling redesigned Office icons with a more colorful, gradient-heavy aesthetic featuring softer curves and enhanced contrast, marking the first major update since 2018. The refresh affects all 10 core Office apps, with design choices inspired by the Copilot icon to reflect a more connected Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Changes include simplified elements like Word's horizontal bars, reduced from four to three, while sharp edges give way to fluid forms for improved legibility and accessibility.
|
Apple Vision Air reportedly shelved over Meta AI glasses competitors (2 minute read)
Apple has reportedly scrapped its cheaper, lighter Vision Pro model to focus on developing smart glasses that can compete with Meta's AI-powered eyewear. Bloomberg says Apple is prioritizing two models: a display-less iPhone-paired version expected by 2027 and display-enabled glasses now being fast-tracked for 2028. Both will rely heavily on AI and voice interaction.
|
|
Craft in Product Design: A Framework for Evaluation (7 minute read)
A five-part framework evaluates visual craft in product design: technique (tool mastery), intentionality (thoughtful UI choices with clear rationale), voice (brand expression), attention to detail (polished execution), and visual communication (compelling presentation skills). Craft has gained importance because AI tools and design systems have commoditized basic competency, making exceptional execution a key differentiator. Design leaders should assess craft across these specific criteria, rather than generalizing, and match evaluation to role requirements while supporting designer growth toward well-rounded "product designer" capabilities in both UX and visual design.
|
UX Speak: The Untold Origins (7 minute read)
Many common UX buzzwords have surprisingly old and unusual origins. “User experience” was coined in the 1990s, but “writer” once meant to scratch or carve, “designer” originally implied a schemer, and “researcher” has meant to investigate since the 1500s. Methods like “A/B testing” stem from testing metals in clay pots, “brainstorming” once described delirium before being popularized in the 1940s, “case study” emerged from early 20th-century law, and “agile” comes from the Latin for nimble, later repurposed in software development in 2001.
|
Turn Drift Into Direction (10 minute read)
Leaving a toxic job after burnout teaches important lessons about preparing an exit before reaching a breaking point. Key strategies include knowing your financial “floor,” keeping your portfolio updated, separating your identity from your job, treating exits as bridges rather than dead ends, networking proactively, leaning on trusted people for perspective, and regularly preparing with small steps to leave without losing yourself or your career momentum.
|
|
Five Trendy Art Styles Designers Should Explore (5 minute read)
Designers should explore five trending art styles to stay relevant in the creative marketplace and connect with evolving consumer preferences. Neo-Brutalism offers bold minimalism for attention-grabbing web designs, while Textured Art provides warmth and human connection through layered visuals. Gothic styles remain timeless for luxury branding, Bold Minimalism delivers clean layouts with strong contrast, and Pixelated graphics have resurged through indie games and retro-themed campaigns as cost-effective, beginner-friendly options.
|
Creatives fear the worst as Affinity's website is paused (4 minute read)
Affinity has paused its website, purchases, and forums ahead of an October 30 announcement, sparking speculation about major changes following its 2024 Canva acquisition. While some expect the launch of “Affinity 3” with AI tools, many designers fear a shift to subscriptions or AI-focused models, with the vague messaging fueling anxiety and distrust among longtime users.
|
Ruslan Abasov says designing typefaces is like “dancing” with his arm (2 minute read)
Ruslan Abasov, a Lausanne-based type designer with roots in Istanbul, approaches typography as storytelling, drawing on his background in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts. His experimental typefaces—like “Mouris Display” created with a 90s computer mouse, “Daido Display” inspired by photographer Daido Moriyama, and “Escargot Display” blending Art Nouveau with machine-driven Bezier forms—reflect his playful, narrative-driven process, which treats type design much like filmmaking.
|
|
Are Accessibility Overlays a Good Investment? (6 minute read)
Accessibility overlays—JavaScript tools that sit atop websites without modifying the underlying code—actually break assistive technologies, create legal liability by demonstrating that businesses were aware of accessibility issues but chose inadequate fixes, and cost more than proper remediation when lawsuits and emergency repairs are factored in.
|
The Design System Lifecycle 2.0 (5 minute read)
Most design systems' lifecycle consists of six stages: Intelligence (continuous research and insight gathering), Strategy (alignment with vision), Execution (building and testing MVPs with AI acceleration), Impact (proving ROI through adoption metrics), Evolution (automated adaptation and platform expansion), and Metrics (connecting adoption to business outcomes).
|
|
|
Love TLDR? Tell your friends and get rewards!
|
|
Share your referral link below with friends to get free TLDR swag!
|
|
|
|
|
Track your referrals here.
|
|
Want to advertise in TLDR? 📰
If your company is interested in reaching an audience of design professionals and decision makers, you may want to advertise with us.
Want to work at TLDR? 💼
Apply here or send a friend's resume to jobs@tldr.tech and get $1k if we hire them!
If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email!
Thanks for reading,
Jae Lee, Matej Latin & Ralph Brinker
|
|
|
|