Design Newsletter - 1 (May,2024)

nurgulaksoynl
Jun 2, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Aug 4, 2024

Hello! 👋🏻 Welcome to the monthly "Design Newsletter", where I compile the latest information, trends and inspiration from the dynamic world of design. I am excited to share my discoveries with you!

Design, Technology, and Art News

Airbnb “Icons” Bring Imagination to Life (PRINT Magazine) Airbnb has introduced a new "Icons" category, offering unique stays inspired by popular culture. These experiences include a stay in the "Up!" house, Prince's "Purple Rain" house, a room at the Musée d’Orsay, the X-Mansion from X-Men, and a Ferrari Museum experience.

Other experiences involve personal interactions with celebrities like a private comedy show with Kevin Hart and a living room session with Doja Cat.💡The goal is to provide guests with unique, imaginative experiences, emphasizing real-world connections. This project reflects Airbnb's evolution from home-sharing to creating elaborate, memorable stays in collaboration with cultural figures and landmarks. (by Charlotte Beach, Posted on May 3, 2024)

Cambridge Experts Warn: AI “Deadbots” Could Digitally “Haunt” Loved Ones From Beyond the Grave (SciTechDaily) Cambridge experts warn of the psychological dangers of ‘Deadbots,’ or ‘Griefbot’ AI chatbots that simulate the language patterns and personality traits of the dead using the digital footprints they leave behind. The study calls for ethical standards, consent protocols, and transparent design to safeguard both data donors and users.

A visualization of a fictional company called Paren’t. Credit: Dr Tomasz Hollanek

Existing services like Project December and HereAfter highlight the urgent need for regulations. These AI services can misuse data to advertise, disturb grieving processes, and emotionally overwhelm users. 💡The researchers call for ethical guidelines, consent protocols, age restrictions, and transparent interaction to prevent misuse and ensure respectful engagement with such technology. (By University Of Cambridge, Posted May 9, 2024)

OpenAI - Spring Update: Introducing GPT-4o and making more capabilities available for free in ChatGPT (OpenAI) This month, we’ve started to see significant AI advancements announced by major companies, one of the most notable updates comes from OpenAI which introduced GPT-4o, a new model that integrates text, audio, image, and video inputs and outputs for more natural human-computer interactions. GPT-4o can respond to inputs in real time, significantly improving upon previous models in speed and cost-effectiveness. It offers enhanced multilingual support and excels in audio and visual tasks. Safety measures are built-in, and initial releases will include text and image functionalities, with audio and video features to follow. GPT-4o aims to provide more natural and versatile human-computer interactions. (By OpenAI, Posted on May 13, 2024)

Google I/O: Gemini App aims to be the AI assistant that surpasses all AI assistants (Google I/O) Another great piece of news comes from Google with the announcement of Gemini, which aims to be the most advanced AI assistant, surpassing all current AI assistants by providing highly personalized and intelligent interactions. This new app integrates deeply with Android 15, providing context-specific assistance based on the app, image, or video currently in use. Unlike previous assistants, Gemini is designed to offer more personalized and intelligent responses, potentially replacing Google Assistant in the future.

Microsoft Build 2024 Announcements (Mashable) Microsoft Build 2024, announced several new features, including updates to its AI chatbot Copilot, new Microsoft Teams tools, and more. Key Highlights:
- Microsoft announced a new AI feature for its Edge browser: real-time translation for videos. It can dub and add subtitles to select videos.
- Microsoft also introduced a handful of new features for Microsoft Teams, the company's Zoom competitor. This includes Intelligent Recap (AI-driven meeting notes) and the use of custom emojis that users can upload for themselves.
- Copilot AI chatbot assists you by watching your screen. The demo showed Copilot helping someone learn how to play the game Minecraft.
- Copilot Agents, an AI business assistant. Microsoft unveiled Copilot Agents, AI assistants that promise to "independently and proactively orchestrate tasks for you." (By Tim Marcin, posted on May 21, 2024)

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is coming to The Hague (Mashable) Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel exhibition is coming to The Hague's Grote Kerk starting June 21, 2024. This unique event features life-sized reproductions of 34 frescoes, offering an up-close view of Michelangelo's masterpieces. The exhibition includes an audio guide and is accessible for all ages. (By Pascal Niesen posted on May 24, 2024)

Interface Insights

Designing for different screen sizes & devices (Medium) Krisztina Szerovay covers the foundational principles of responsive design. Layout types, responsive grid systems, alignments, screen resolutions, and pixel density are the key topics of the article. (By Krisztina Szerovay posted on Mar 27, 2020)

Google Maps just dropped MASSIVE updates (blog.google) Google Maps has rolled out major updates with creative applications🤩:
- Live View: Use AR to find nearby ATMs, restaurants, parks, and transit stations with easy access to their hours and ratings.
- New Immersive View in 3D: Navigate using street-level 3D models for a cinematic experience.
- Lens in Maps: AI and AR provide instant insights into surroundings.
- Conversational Search: AI-powered chat reveals detailed location info.
- Project Greenlight: Uses AI and Maps data to predict traffic flow and optimize traffic lights for better traffic management.

People + AI Guidebook (PAIR) The People + AI Guidebook from Google PAIR offers methods, best practices, and examples for designing AI-integrated products. It includes AI design patterns 😍 with action-oriented guidance, organized around key questions in product development. The guidebook also features six deep-dive chapters, case studies, and workshop materials to help teams implement these concepts effectively. The resources are based on insights from industry experts and Google researchers, aiming to foster human-centered AI design.

An example from the AI design patterns section

Knowledge Drops

Address Field Design Due to my current project, I have read several articles on address field design.
- Optimizing the Form Address Field (Zuko): Tips to enhance the user experience of address fields in forms, such as ensuring fields are appropriately sized, placing labels correctly, using single-line fields, and incorporating autocomplete and geolocation technologies.
- Address Field Design Best Practices (UX Planet): Best practices for designing address fields, focusing on user-friendly layouts, handling international addresses, and reducing user input through smart defaults and autocompletion.
- Address Line 2 Insights (Baymard): The use and optimization of the "Address Line 2" field.
- Designing Address Forms for Everyone, Everywhere (Shopify UX): Designing inclusive address forms that accommodate diverse user needs and international address formats.
The 6 Types of Conversations with Generative AI (NNGroup) The article discusses various types of AI-driven conversations, focusing on how to design and optimize them for a better user experience. It categorizes AI conversations into six main types:

Generative AI is reshaping our mental models of how products work. Product teams must adjust. (Medium) Generative AI is changing users’ and designer’s mental models of product functionality. Mental models set by AI often lead to unrealistic expectations, but recent surveys show optimism about AI’s future impact on work and life. UX designers must manage expectations to prevent frustration and mistrust, explaining AI capabilities and limitations clearly. (By Reena Jana, Mahima Pushkarna, and Soojin Jeong posted on Apr 26, 20024)

Tool Time

No more page organization hacking in Figma 🥳 Organize your pages any way you want.
- Turn a page into a page divider with hyphens, en/em dashes, asterisks, or spaces.
- Hold shift to select multiple pages and move them around.

Multi-edit in Figma Multi-edit is a capability in Figma that allows you to select objects across many frames and edit them simultaneously! 🎊Learn how to find and select matching layers, resize and align them to their frames, batch edit text boxes, make changes to all variants at once, and more-- all in just a couple clicks.