Figma moves closer to a blockbuster IPO that could raise $1.5B (3 minute read)
Figma has filed an initial S-1, revealing strong financials including $749 million in revenue for 2024 and 91% gross margins, signaling readiness for a major IPO that could raise up to $1.5 billion. Despite a temporary loss from stock compensation expenses, the company returned to profitability and faces strong investor interest, though it acknowledges rising competition from AI-driven design tools as a potential risk.
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Nothing's over-ear headphones are all about the buttons (2 minute read)
Nothing has launched its first over-ear headphones, the Headphone 1. The design emphasizes tactile control through uniquely shaped physical buttons paired with Nothing's signature semi-transparent aesthetic. Offering high-end features like active noise cancellation, spatial audio, and KEF-developed drivers, the headphones boast 35 hours of battery life and aim to stand out in the premium audio market.
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Ribena's classy new look proves the power of the subtle rebrand (2 minute read)
Ribena has unveiled a subtle yet impactful rebrand in collaboration with design agency Elmwood, aiming to modernize its image while preserving its heritage. The updated design features a refined wordmark by typographer Luke Ritchie, a new "juicy droplet" icon, and more vibrant packaging that emphasizes freshness and indulgence. This refresh demonstrates how small, thoughtful adjustments can effectively revitalize a legacy brand without losing its identity.
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CLS Is the New Page Speed: Why Designers Need to Care More Than Developers (6 minute read)
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), a Core Web Vital that measures visual stability, has become a critical UX metric that designers must address, not just developers. Modern design decisions, such as undefined image heights, custom fonts without fallbacks, and unplanned dynamic content, directly cause layout shifts that frustrate users and harm search rankings. Designers need to adopt CLS-conscious workflows by reserving space for loading content, planning font fallback behavior, and creating stable layouts that survive real-world loading conditions.
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Challenges in Rethinking User Interface Design for Age of AI (9 minute read)
AI interface design faces critical challenges as it moves beyond traditional visual patterns to prompt-based systems. Designers must address cognitive overload from learning prompts, explainability issues where users struggle to understand AI reasoning, and hallucination problems where AI generates convincingly incorrect answers. Solutions include integrating traditional UI elements with prompts, providing citations and confidence scores, building transparency through source access, and carefully elevating existing workflows rather than replacing them entirely.
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Fresh Eyes Effect (5 minute read)
When we stop questioning routines and operate on autopilot, we lose creativity—something that can be reignited by inviting "fresh eyes" to challenge long-held assumptions and flip familiar processes, like how we hire, market, or support customers. This “power of 180” shows that breakthrough ideas often come not from deep domain expertise, but from outsiders unburdened by norms capable of spotting overlooked problems and offering surprising, valuable perspectives.
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Devices and Branding Mockups (Figma plugin)
Elevate your design projects with high-quality, realistic mockups. Create customized mockups by simply drawing your angle, effortlessly turning your designs into stunning presentations.
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Copy Rotation (Figma plugin)
A user-friendly rotation copy tool for creating precise circular arrays with real-time previews, customizable angles, copy counts, and spacing—ideal for designs like clock faces, radial patterns, and circular layouts.
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Designing User-Centric Forms: Four Great Form Examples (6 minute read)
Effective form design requires balancing business needs, user experience, and visual design through stakeholder alignment and the use of progressive disclosure techniques. Research shows that multi-step forms with conversational language can increase completion rates by up to 214% compared to traditional approaches. Companies like Intuit and Mailchimp demonstrate how human-centered design, comprehensive testing, and strategic microcopy transform forms from interrogations into engaging conversations that drive both user satisfaction and business growth.
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Crafting Youthful Brands: MoMA's Playful Visual Identity (2 minute read)
Athletics developed a vibrant and accessible brand identity for MoMA's School & Teacher Programs, aiming to make modern art feel welcoming and exciting for young learners. The new design encourages self-expression, curiosity, and a lasting connection to art by combining playful visuals, student-friendly language, and hands-on materials.
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