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News & Trends

Develop a Deeper Understanding with Interactive Images in Gemini (1 minute read)

Gemini introduced interactive images that let users tap or click on parts of diagrams to access definitions, explanations, and deeper content about complex academic concepts. This feature transforms studying from passive viewing into active exploration, allowing learners to gain more information and ask follow-up questions. The capability makes learning more visual, dynamic, and accessible by moving beyond simple text and static images.

Animated flow demonstrations have arrived on Mobbin (1 minute read)

Mobbin has launched animated interface previews, giving UX/UI designers the ability to view interfaces as interactive flows rather than static screenshots. The new feature shows real motion and behavior—transitions, button states, message animations, and navigation responses—making it easier to understand how an experience truly works, not just how it looks. While the animations are heavier to load and not every flow is available yet, the update offers designers far more realistic, "live" references for shaping smoother, more user-friendly products.

Apple's new Font Book icon is upsetting designers (2 minute read)

Apple's new Liquid Glass design language has sparked major debate in the UI community, marking the biggest visual shift since iOS 7 abandoned skeuomorphism. While Liquid Glass reshapes icons across macOS and iOS, designers are particularly frustrated by the simplified Font Book icon, which now shows a single sans-serif "a" instead of multiple typefaces, making the app's purpose feel less clear. Critics say the change hurts usability and removes personality, while supporters argue it's cleaner and fits the new aesthetic. Overall, the update reflects Apple's ongoing move toward a sleeker but less playful visual style, distancing itself from the more characterful designs of the 2000s.

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Opinions & Tutorials

The UX Skills Gap and Why Employers Need Design Thinkers, Not Just Developers (5 minute read)

UK organisations face a critical UX skills gap, with teams rich in technical talent but lacking professionals who can connect digital systems to actual user needs through design thinking. The Design Council reports that firms that integrate design into business processes grow twice as fast, yet many digital transformation projects fail due to poor user experience rather than technical shortcomings. Apprenticeships in UX and digital design offer employers a practical solution for developing design thinkers internally, building a workforce capable of combining analytical skills with human-centered problem-solving.

How to Rewild Your Creative Practice (7 minute read)

A writer and artist who relocated from NYC to Upstate New York discovered that gardening transformed her creative approach and helped combat digital burnout. Through years of cultivating her yard, she learned six transferable lessons: embrace creative ecosystems through collaboration, start projects with available resources, ruthlessly edit ideas like pruning plants, experiment abundantly without knowing the outcomes, accept slow, nonlinear progress, and celebrate completed work. The practice of working with soil, plants, and natural cycles rewired her into a happier person while grounding her predominantly digital creative life.

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Launches & Tools

Create Designer-quality Email Templates with AI (Website)

Chat with AI to create professional designs and generate clean HTML email templates.

Easily Create Viral Videos (Website)

Using AI to generate ideas, speed up video editing, and simplify the workflow.

Turn Ideas Into Powerpoints (Website)

Better Powerpoints lets you create professional presentations directly in your browser for free.

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Miscellaneous

This Thing is Killing Your Creative Momentum (3 minute read)

Designers often scatter their creative energy across multiple complex problems in a single day, believing this multitasking reflects productivity, but each creative challenge demands its own distinct mental space. The most effective creative work happens when someone commits to solving one substantial problem per day, allowing their mind to fully enter that world and make meaningful progress rather than hovering superficially across several tasks. This isn't about doing less work overall—smaller tasks and refinements can still happen—but about recognizing that quality creative output requires choosing which single problem deserves full attention today.

Mentimeter introduces playful new illustration system by Loek Vugs as part of its global rebrand (5 minute read)

Mentimeter's rebrand adds a new hand-drawn illustration and animation system by Dutch designer Loek Vugs, blending the platform's clean UI with lively, sketchbook-style visuals. Built through broad early sketch exploration, the single-colour drawings balance minimalism with realistic human movement and span both expressive spot illustrations and a clear icon set—producing memorable concepts like the half-horse "error" costume. Designed with motion in mind, the artwork animates with simple, satisfying loops that enhance small UI interactions, giving Mentimeter a more playful and distinctive personality as the update rolls out.

New report shows design agencies' income up but profits flat (5 minute read)

A new report shows UK design and branding agencies stabilizing after a difficult period, with fee income rising 5.5% (3% after inflation) and strong growth in retail, packaging, and brand identity work. However, profitability remains weak: margins are flat at 6.9%, employment costs keep climbing, and both income and profit per head have fallen. Group-owned agencies now outperform independents. The report warns that AI is pressuring fees while demanding new investment, pushing agencies to shift gradually toward value-based pricing to stay competitive.

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