FEATURE
Figma announces big redesign with AI
Figma said that this is the company’s third “significant redesign” since Figma’s closed beta launch. Beyond the redesign, the headline feature addition is new generative AI tools, which look like a useful way to quickly get started with a design. They’re basically a Figma-focused version of the “draft an email”-type AI tools we’ve seen many times.
But it pulled the feature back within a week, but that's the next story...
theverge.com
Figma disables its AI design feature that appeared to be ripping off Apple's Weather app
Andy Allen, the founder of NotBoring Software, found by testing Figma’s tool that it would repeatedly reproduce Apple’s Weather app when used as a design aid. “Just a heads up to any designers using the new Make Designs feature that you may want to thoroughly check existing apps or modify the results heavily so that you don’t unknowingly land yourself in legal trouble,” Allen warned others on X.
techcrunch.com
MIT robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks thinks people are vastly overestimating generative AI
Rodney Brooks thinks that the problem is that generative AI is not human or even human-like, and it’s flawed to try and assign human capabilities to it. He says people see it as so capable they even want to use it for applications that don’t make sense.
techcrunch.com
CREATIVITY
Top 3 Tips To Encourage Creative Thinking Within Your Team
If you really want your team to be more creative, this article shares three tips to help you achieve that:
- Give Your Team Some Freedom
- Keep The Workload At 80/20
- Make Creativity A Part Of Your Culture
Five keys to unlocking a creative, restful life
Rest is crucial for creativity, productivity, and overall well-being. The author speaks with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, who advocates for a four-day workweek and emphasizes the significance of rest for everyone, not just those in creative fields. The interview also provides practical advice on how to incorporate rest into daily routines and the benefits of vacations for mental health.
cnn.com
CURIOSITY
Jony Ive talks about the joy & pain of working for Apple; shares seven songs
The Life in Seven Songs podcast has been named by Apple as a top new show, and the latest episode sees the company’s former design chief Jony Ive talk about his background, and the joy and pain of working for the company …
The podcast series launched last month, with the The San Francisco Standard asking noted figures the question: “What songs tell your life story?” Listen to the 30 minute podcast or read the transcript: https://www.lifeinsevensongs.com/jony-ive/.
Think about it: “What songs tell your life story?”
9to5mac.com
VISUAL
Verizon’s new logo turns it into Netflix
Gone is the Verizon electricity-inspired checkmark, which has been with the brand in some permutation for more than 20 years. In its place is a more flexible and adaptive letter V, which will serve as Verizon’s signature when its full wordmark isn’t the right tool for the job.
fastcompany.com
INCLUSIVE
Disability Pride Month 2024
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990; July is Disability Pride month. Learn more as PBS celebrates Disability Pride Month with this special collection of films and programs that shed light on the disability rights movement and the courageous people who have driven it forward.
The updated disability flag shows a diagonal banner of five colors on a dark background, representing the diverse parts of the disability community:
- Red - physical disabilities
- Gold - neurodiversity
- White - invisible disabilities and disabilities that haven't yet been diagnosed
- Blue - emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression
- Green - for sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities
- The faded black background mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse.
