Well hello you lovely human beings! 🖤
Wow, there are a LOT of things happening this week in the design world:
- Adobe has been hosting their ‘Adobe Max’ event in LA - with a whole load of new features and improvements being announced
- Canva is broadcasting a keynote this evening - promising new features and exciting updates (*cough* email designs & new magic video *cough*) 🤐
- And Affinity (design software geared towards professional designers) are ALSO announcing something big today. (FYI - Canva actually bought Affinity this year….so you know they are serious about rivalling Adobe!!)
So what does this mean for you? Well, watch this space in the next few days. My plan is to create a summary of the updates and features that I think will be most useful for you. Because I don’t know about you - but I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with the number and speed of changes right now.
It’s one of the reasons I’ve been so quiet lately on YouTube: I re-recorded a load of my course content - and a week later Canva changed the video editor interface.🤦🏽♂️ I created a new tutorial - and before I published it I discovered that one of the tools I showcased has disappeared because Canva is integrating it into another part of the platform.🤬 Honestly, it’s a little like juggling jello right now. But change is good - and it brings new opportunities.
It has also given me even more empathy for people who - unlike me - only use the tools casually. It can feel really overwhelming to try use a tool you THOUGHT you were familiar with, only to discover it has changed every time you log in! Don't worry....I got you.😊 And don’t even get me started on AI!
Actually I will say, watching yesterday's Adobe keynote I was really pleased to see that already the focus is moving to using AI as just a tool to REFINE human creations rather than expecting complete creations from a prompt. It definitely feels like people have rapidly realised that AI on its own just lacks something when it comes to creating. In fact I really wanted to share a quote from one of the speakers that I immediately wrote down (although I can't remember who said it...ooops! 🤣):
Whether it's Canva, Adobe Express, a pen & paper, video or podcast....the MEDIUM isn't what connects us...it's the stories we tell - that other people can relate to or feel an emotional reaction to. And honestly, I think that's what will continue to make you stand out from the noise.
So, I am very hopeful that all the announcements this week will result in some exciting new ways for you to boost your brand and business design - creatively, efficiently and with humanity.
Meaningful Creations
I have the same attitude to art as I have to wine: I don't know that much about it technically, but I know what I like. 🤣 This week I wanted to introduce you to an artist from the North of England who's work I love - Andrew Carr.
Abstract art can be really subjective, and I find Andrew's work really captures my imagination. Although referred to as landscapes, his artworks remind of classical renaissance art and I almost feel like I SHOULD be able to see battles and angels and classical figures in the them...but at the same time they have an abstract, otherworldly, and ethereal feel to them. And of course his color palettes are just perfect. 😜
Andrew says he is "interest in the way abstract painting dances around the contrasting notions of ambiguity and recognition. I hope to create a visceral experience for the viewer which does not necessarily demand intellectual analysis."
So I won't pretend to be able to articulate WHY...but Andrew's art certainly evokes an emotional response in me, and I guess that's what art SHOULD be about...making you feel something or making you think.
Anyway, check out his instagram and his website. And tell him I sent ya. 😉
OK folks. It's Halloween this week - which I celebrate as Samhain, the Celtic New Year. It's the end of the harvest and start of winter - the perfect time to start reflecting on just how much you have achieved this year, and cozy up to plan your new adventures and goals. And of course, candy & spooky goodness are always fun! 🎃
Have a fabulous weekend you gorgeous ghouls. 🖤
