Issue #767: No more icons in every menu by default
Nobody asked for the sparkle button, How I work, Behind Apple Music’s new brand identity, Entering Atomic Design from the screen, and more.
Highlights of the week
- An AI notepad for user interviews - Jot down what stands out while the participant talks, and Granola fills in the rest from the transcript after the call. Sign up on desktop for a free month. - Granola promoted
- No more icons in every menu by default - Apple tried putting icons in all their menus, and even they went back on it. - Jim Nielsen
- Nobody asked for the sparkle button - Products ship with the same AI panel; people hunt for the off switch, and spend has outrun returns. Build features with AI, not AI features. - Jon Sabutis
- How I work - The job has changed more in a year than in the decade before it. Here’s what mine feels like today. - Marie-Claire Dean
Read all week, picked once. The best design links, every Tuesday.
Product design, UX/UI and PM
- Behind Apple Music’s new brand identity - Apple's streaming service has rebranded for the first time since launch. Created with TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the new identity is full of ripples made by sound. - Katy Cowan
- Entering Atomic Design from the screen - You don't always have to build from atoms. Sometimes, you need to discover them. - Sepeda Rafael
Design engineering
- Design and engineering are the same thing (video) - Opening lecture for the Dyson School of Engineering in October 2026 where I reviewed a variety of thoughts I've had over the years in a 43-minute talk. - John Maeda
Tools and resources
- Paper Mono - Paper Mono is a free and open source font family with 8 variable weights and coding ligatures. - Paper
Inspiration and creativity
- Intent Design System - A live inventory of the brand’s system of colors, typography, iconography, and components. - Intent
Last but not least
- Everyone is starting over - The careers that thrive now are the ones willing to become someone new, over and over. - Gabriel Valdivia