The Two Schools of AI Branding: Invisible vs. Magical
Perplexity, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Copilot, Apple Intelligence, Meta AI, Grok, Notion AI — the brand identities of the AI era are splitting into two opposing camps.
Blog
Design trends, studio spotlights, and industry insights.
Mews, MACBA, Birkenstock, and the Software You Never See | Koto, Mucho, Base Design, illo
Koto rebrands the hidden software that runs your hotel stay. Mucho reopens MACBA at 30. Base Design sells Birkenstocks for 7am and 7pm. illo makes YouTube's backstage notifications feel alive. Hello Comrade launches a protein drink with a hipster-device aesthetic, Stink makes HR funny, and Found turns a lens launch into a neuroscience film. Seven projects about the design work nobody was supposed to notice.
Google Pixel, Gap-Tooth Soda, and a Bose Valentine | Buck, Saint-Urbain, Hello Comrade, DixonBaxi
Buck turns the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's outer screen into a character stage. Saint-Urbain builds a soda brand around a gap-toothed smile. Hello Comrade wraps a Bose speaker like a giant candy. And DixonBaxi turns a creative festival into a cultural institute. Four projects about brands that refuse to take themselves too seriously.
Nothing Phone, TikTok Rebrand, and IBM Quantum | DixonBaxi, Koto, Bedow, Warburtons
Nothing launches a phone that looks like nothing else. DixonBaxi bites a corner off TikTok. Koto gives a calorie tracker a Yeti mascot. And a 165-year-old Russian embroidery factory gets an identity built on invisibility. This week's roundup is about heritage, evolution, and knowing what to keep.
Bleed Redesigns Sanity | On Running Shenzhen, Six Six Eyewear, newkid, Modem
A running brand builds a retail temple in Shenzhen, Bleed gives Sanity a system that speaks to both developers and designers, and a Melbourne eyewear shop turns architecture into identity. Plus two projects from Toronto studio newkid that show what quiet conviction looks like.
Base Design's Botanical Garden in Geneva | Pentagram, Gretel, PLURAL, Philadelphia
From a 200-year-old botanical garden in Geneva to a hand-drawn cinema alliance in New York, this week's roundup covers identity work that deals with heritage, place, and the tension between preservation and reinvention.
WordPress, Webflow, or Framer? The Tech Stack of 400 Design Studios
We scanned the websites of 400 design studios to find out what they actually use. jQuery is alive and well, Rive has overtaken GSAP, and 64% don't write code at all.
Why Design Studios Are Switching to Framer | Webflow vs Framer, Web Design Trends
Framer has gone from prototyping tool to full website platform. We looked at the studios building with it and what it means for web design.
What Makes a Studio Portfolio Convert | 400 Websites Reviewed
After reviewing hundreds of studio websites, here's what separates the portfolios that convert from the ones that don't.