"Instead of starting with a product that we didn't feel like existed in the marketplace, we started with a mission that we felt like didn't exist, particularly in the beauty space," Cohen said. "We love that young people are turning to brands for not just products, but for the issues that they care about-and also that's what holds us accountable."
AI is creating significant disruption and competing definitions of what is 'human made' are confusing consumers. A universal definition is essential to build trust, clarification and confidence. Without standardization, consumers face confusion distinguishing between genuinely human-made products and those using AI, undermining the credibility of the entire certification movement.
We've both fought against needless promotional content before and lamented that frontier AI platforms are falling into the same pattern. As designers and users, we've learned that "free" usually means putting up with interruptive, slightly creepy ads that feel more like a tax than a benefit - a frustration tax that now colors how we approach free‑tier services and now AI tools.
First, we got iPhones in Hermès orange, and now we might get them in Louboutin red. According to 's Mark Gurman, Apple is already mulling over what the next premium colorway will be for its iPhone Pro models. While we're not expecting iPhone 18 announcements until later this year, Gurman reported that "red is the new flagship color in testing for the next iPhone Pros."
Static images don't show motion. You can't inspect real product structure. You don't see how interfaces evolve over time. You rarely understand what actually works in production. So I decided to go deep. I reviewed every major design reference platform I could find - not just the popular ones - and analyzed how they actually help in real-world work. The conclusion?
Architect-turned-interior designer Anh Ly, founder and CEO of Mim Concept, explains why the color surged in the first place: "Butter yellow had a magic moment because it felt optimistic and comforting, especially during a time when people were craving warmth at home." Now, that emotional pull is also what's working against it. "It fell short on resale since it's a very emotion-specific color. Buyers tend to see it as personal rather than neutral, which makes it harder for them to imagine themselves in the space," Ly adds.
Its newest, though, is a single-fan book with more than 600 spot colors, and it's priced at just $99. Pantone for beginners. Pantone on Thursday announced its Pantone Capsule: Signature Edition. Housed in a collectible, cylindrical case that wouldn't look out of place in a Sephora, the guide is a sort of Pantone 101 that come on coated and uncoated paper stock with colors selected from across more than 60 years of Pantone history.
What if I took my design lens and built out my essentials capsule for the Everlane customer? I felt like that would be a really amazing opportunity for me to introduce myself as a designer to an audience outside of EB Denim.
A brand name is not merely a marketing decision. It is a long-term asset decision with deeply personal consequences. For founders, naming a brand after oneself can feel like the most natural-and powerful-choice. A personal name signifies authenticity, craftsmanship, and accountability. Consumers feel they are not just buying a product, but a person's vision, values, and reputation.
We examine the online debate ignited by Pantone's Colour of the Year, Cloud Dancer. This episode dives into the discussion prompted by Pantone, unpacking the uneasy relationship between colour and fascism. From hardline efforts to regulate colour in public life to the ways vibrancy and maximalism reassert themselves, we explore how colour becomes a quiet form of resistance across art, fashion, film, and design.
Helping people to reconnect with old memories, viewers are transported to their local corner shop, school playgrounds and childhood cupboards. "I think this project has struck a chord because there's a particular interest in hand drawn designs of the past in the current age of AI where human effort is at an all-time low. Now the first thought is 'I'll get AI to do that', rather than commissioning an illustrator," says Chris.
For much of the modern corporate era, brand has been treated as surface area. A story told outward. A set of signals designed to persuade, attract, and differentiate. When companies spoke about brand, they were usually talking about perception: how they looked in the market, how they sounded, how they were received. That framing made sense in a world where markets moved a little more slowly, organizations were stable, and leadership could afford to separate strategy from culture, product from meaning, execution from belief.
