Canva Brush: AI That Edits Your Designs Live
Canva released Canva Brush, a vision-language model that understands your designs and edits them in real time. Point at an element, describe what you want, and the AI adjusts it—no hunting through menus.
How Luxury Brands Are Fighting AI Clutter With Handmade Art
As AI-generated ads flood social feeds, luxury brands like Prada are doubling down on handmade work. Prada's "Drawing Prada" holiday campaign uses hand-animated storytelling to stand out—and it's resonating hard on social media.
Turning Nightmares Into Art: John Kenn Mortensen's Process
Illustrator John Kenn Mortensen talks about mining his childhood nightmares for dark fantasy designs, then bringing them to life as video game monsters for the project FLASK. His handmade approach anchors every creature in genuine emotion.
Figma's AI Editor Learns Design Language, Not Just Code
Figma released research on training an AI model that understands Figma's design workflows natively. It's not a generic large language model—it's specialized to how designers actually work in their tools.
Design a Home, Get Built: Vermont's Pre-Approved Housing Catalog
Vermont is releasing 802 Homes, a catalog of 10 pre-approved house designs to speed up the housing crisis. The state pre-vetted them for compliance and cost, so builders and families can pick a design and build fast—no permitting delays.
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TODAY’S THREAD**Handmade beats machine-made; specialty beats generic; constraint sparks invention.** From Prada's hand-animated ads to Figma's specialized AI to Vermont's pre-approved homes, the lesson is clear: in a world of infinite options and AI slop, real design—whether crafted by hand, trained on your workflow, or built to solve an actual problem—cuts through noise and creates trust. Your job as a designer is to know when to use tools, and when to *be* the tool.