Leaked Prototypes Reveal Apple Once Tested Pink and Yellow AirPods (2 minute read)
Newly leaked photos from prototype collector Kosutami show that Apple tested first-generation AirPods in bright pink and yellow, with colored charging cases matching the iPhone 5c palette, while the earbuds remained white. The prototypes indicate that Apple seriously considered launching colorful options alongside the iPhone 7 before ultimately choosing the iconic all-white design. While AirPods Max later introduced color variants, standard AirPods and AirPods Pro have maintained their white-only appearance across all generations, prioritizing brand identity over personalization.
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Google Sans Flex is Now on Google Fonts (1 minute read)
Google Sans, Google's proprietary brand font, was developed over years with advanced variable features like weight, grade, and optical size. Until now, it hasn't been available outside the company. Google has made it available to everyone through Google Fonts.
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Qwen-Image-Edit-2511: Improve Consistency (9 minute read)
Qwen-Image-Edit-2511 introduces several enhancements over its predecessor, including improved character and multi-person consistency, integrated LoRA capabilities, and stronger geometric reasoning for design applications. The model can now perform identity-preserving edits, merge multiple portraits into coherent group photos, and generate industrial designs with realistic lighting and material variations. Users can access the model through Qwen Chat's Image Editing feature, though local deployment via ModelScope is recommended for optimal performance.
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How to Design to Alert Users Without Overwhelming Them (8 minute read)
Effective alert design requires managing user attention as a scarce resource by distinguishing between alarms (which require immediate action) and anomalies (which invite investigation). The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates that both too little and too much stimulation harm performance, making it critical to create clear visual hierarchies. When everything appears equally urgent, users experience alarm fatigue and miss critical information, so designers must prioritize creating systems that instantly signal what demands action now versus what can wait.
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The most controversial rebrands and logo redesigns of 2025 (10 minute read)
2025 proved to be the most perilous year yet for rebrands, as social media backlash turned even routine logo updates into controversies and pushed some brands to reverse decisions, like Cracker Barrel and McDonald's. High-profile redesigns from media networks, global corporations, transport bodies, luxury carmakers, sports teams, and cultural institutions showed that public reaction is now as influential as design strategy itself.
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Design is more than code (6 minute read)
The debate around designing with code overlooks a deeper concern: as tools and AI evolve, the risk is devaluing designers' core contribution of defining problems, intent, and vision. Design is presented as a non-linear practice where conceptual thinking must come before execution, regardless of medium, or else products risk becoming efficient to build but poorly considered.
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Top 10 Design Objects and Materials of 2025 (10 minute read)
This roundup highlights ten design projects from 2025 that prioritized sustainability, sensory interaction, and material innovation through biology and technology. Featured works include a biodegradable gaming controller, a fungi-based prosthetic organ that digests microplastics in the body, and Yamaha's digital piano made from recycled rare African Blackwood. Other projects include microalgae pigments for sustainable color, touch-responsive sonic furniture, tableware designed to enhance taste perception through gastrophysics research, and a modular pen with textured grips to stimulate creative thinking.
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Increase your value with systems thinking (11 minute read)
Systems thinking in design means looking beyond isolated tasks to understand products as interconnected ecosystems, ensuring you identify the real problem before designing solutions that balance user needs, business goals, and technical constraints. By considering dependencies, consequences, feedback loops, and multiple perspectives early, designers produce higher-quality, more resilient solutions and increase their overall value.
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