Design

Is Förlig the Swedish translation for lightsaber? Because it’s impossible to see anything but a Jedi’s weapon when looking at Ikea’s new $25 USB-powered LED lamp. It cycles through multiple colors at the push of a button and can be used standing up with an included stand, hung on a wall, or swung around while you make sound effects.

A redesigned wordmark has appeared at the start of a new promotional video for Apple Music Hall, and at the top of the venue’s website. That said, the current version is still being used across the Apple Music website, and displayed inside the new show venue. so it’s unclear if Apple will be using the new logo anywhere else.

Following the standalone Magic Drawing Pad from 2024, XP-Pen is now launching the Android 16-based Magic Pro 13 next month to tempt creatives away from sketching on iPads. The price hasn’t been announced yet, but it features a 3096 x 2064 resolution LCD display, with 100 percent sRGB coverage, 650-nit brightness, and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

Y Combinator has finally posted a video of Kare’s 50-minute talk at last month’s Startup School 2026 event. The renowned designer shares more stories about the process of creating the original Macintosh’s icons, the command key symbol that’s still in use today, and the Chicago font that Apple revived for the early iPods.

The Swedish flatpack furniture maker shared a video through its Instagram account today that seemingly reveals an upcoming collection inspired by the console. The video’s details are vague but it appears to show a piece of furniture inspired by an Xbox controller’s thumbstick as well as a bright green X-shaped cushion.

Samsung’s online-exclusive “Pistachio” version of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 looks great, and has apparently been selling well. But I’m a much bigger fan of Google’s Pixel 11 finish by the same name. It looks a lot closer to the color of a good pistachio gelato, unlike whatever minty nonsense Samsung is up to.

Two people have filed a class action suit against Mercedes-AMG, claiming that a raised metal logo on the seats of certain models literally brands them on hot days. According to the Associated Press:

The company has reportedly slashed its revenue forecast for 2026 by a third after relying too heavily on frontier models from other providers to drive AI features on the platform. According to Startup Daily, here’s what CEO Melanie Perkins had to say in an update to shareholders:

Design firm Pen & Pixel was behind more than 20,000 album covers between the early ‘90s and 2000s. They were the go-to for Cash Money and No Limit, creating the gaudy diamond-encrusted covers for Master P’s “MP da Last Don” and Juvenile’s “400 Degreez.”

The company that showed off a working modular concept phone at MWC is teasing a bezelless concept for the IFA show in September. It looks nice, and attracts attention, but don’t expect to buy it (from Tecno) anytime soon.

Ten designs have been shortlisted for the next series of European banknotes. You can vote for your favorite until September 21st, ahead of the final selection expected later this year.

The reputable Design Docs YouTube channel has a new documentary about Apple’s first graphic designer. Kare is responsible for the smiling Mac icon, that weird looped-square Command symbol still found on Apple keyboards, and many other “pictures that taught a generation of nervous, non-technical people that a computer could be approached without fear.”

The source code for Microsoft Comic Chat is now available, opening up the workings of a project released in 1996 that turned the walls of text from chats into comic strips, generating panels and illustrations that represent the chat and are still backward-compatible with text-only clients.

Adidas says the $250 BB.01 is the “world’s first 3D printed basketball shoe” and the first shoe it’s launching from its Project R.A.P. platform, following last year’s 3D-printed Climacool. Getting them will be tough — only 169 pairs will be available in a limited drop starting July 10th.

If you’ve ever wondered why colors look different in digital photographs compared to the real world, then boy do I have a fun deep-dive for you. Read this article to find out why green traffic lights aren’t really green, and why it’s “totally implausible” for a T-Rex’s vision to be based on movement.

After updating, the much-maligned sparkle icon — meant to celebrate 20 years of Spotify — will revert back to its former flat self.

The 2D animation software is currently limited to iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, but now a version for Windows and macOS is “coming soon.” A one-time purchase model will likely be available given Callipeg currently charges $14.99 for the mobile / tablet version. My animation buddies are justifiably buzzed.

Teams can use Figma Make as a visual surface for building and editing real software by connecting Make with a production or sandbox repository via the Figma desktop app. Figma is also introducing a new editing panel in Figma Make for “precise design adjustments like layouts, colors, font sizes, and effects.”

As long as you don’t expect it to do anything more than just store a stack of UMDs you won’t be disappointed by Zara’s new $35.90 PSP crossbody bag that features a silicone recreation of Sony’s handheld on the front and a matching Playstation-themed shoulder strap.

The new agent is initially available in Figma Design, and can be used to help with generated or editing design projects, and “automate busywork,” according to Figma’s announcement. This is the latest creative company to launch an AI assistant, following Canva and several examples from Adobe.

Project Luna — a round screen with a swiveling head that reminds me of Samsung’s “AI OLED Turntable” — offers a glimpse of what’s to come from Samsung’s design, according to chief design officer, Mauro Porcini. Samsung teased the bot in a YouTube Shorts, and now Fast Company has some exclusive details.

Google’s latest affordable phone launched in Japan today, more than a month after its release elsewhere. The wait might have been worth it though, since Japanese buyers can get the phone in an exclusive isai blue finish, designed in partnership with Heralbony, a creative company that works with artists with disabilities.