Former Tech Exec Admits to Fraud Involving a Scheme to Boost Getty Images Shares, Authorities Say (3 minute read)
Former technology executive Robert Scott Murray pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud for a scheme to inflate Getty Images' share price. Once the CEO of 3Com, Murray attempted to manipulate Getty's stock to sell his 300,000 shares for a higher profit. He issued misleading news releases through his venture, Trillium Capital, and announced a false bid to acquire Getty at $10 per share, nearly double the previous closing price. The SEC deemed the bid “false and misleading,” noting Murray quickly liquidated his shares for approximately $1.49 million without securing funds for the acquisition.
Your Google Photos App May Soon Get a Big Overhaul. Here's What it Looks Like (2 minute read)
Google Photos is set to receive a significant update that will enhance its sharing and notification features. The overhaul will include a new social-focused “Sharing Activity” page, similar to Instagram and Facebook, for more accessible interactions with likes and comments on photos. A revamped storage meter will visually display how much storage can be reclaimed, streamlining the deletion process. These updates indicate Google's intention to integrate more social elements into Google Photos, transforming it from a simple photo backup app to a more interactive platform.
AI-Generated Sound Effects are Here (2 minute read)
ElevenLabs has introduced "Text to Sound," an AI Audio model that generates sound effects, instrumental tracks, soundscapes, and character voices from text prompts. This new tool aims to assist creators, including those in film, television, video games, and social media, by providing high-quality audio content quickly and affordably. Partnering with Shutterstock, ElevenLabs fine-tuned the model using Shutterstock's extensive audio library, enhancing the tool's versatility.
How to get past your limitations (4 minute read)
Designers often limit their growth by focusing only on visual creativity and avoiding decision-making, resulting in mediocre work as non-designers make vital decisions. To break this cycle, designers should develop leadership and influence skills, expand their definition of design talent to include these abilities, and encourage more designers to take on decision-making roles.
Designing for Privacy in an AI World (3 minute read)
AI offers immense potential but needs responsible development to ensure privacy and user safety. This article dives into generative AI and privacy, emphasizing the need for embedded privacy protections. It discusses practical ways to mitigate privacy risks, especially during the application phase, and highlights the importance of collaboration and innovation to balance privacy with AI's benefits.
Designer engagement report (11 minute read)
The top three problems for designers at work right now are limited ability to conduct research and receive feedback, lack of design strategy, and no career progression opportunities. Design is an unequal partner in the design/product/engineering trifecta, which is why most companies don't have design leadership and most designers need to work with multiple product managers.
Beautiful, boring, and without soul (8 minute read)
A park's restorative power depends on its green spaces, design, and community integration. Similarly, a product's value extends beyond usability to evoking emotions and a sense of beauty. This is achieved by designers immersing themselves in their humanity.
Unbundling User Research (9 minute read)
Traditional research-led projects are being integrated into product work, with stages like analyzing and synthesizing remaining crucial. Continuous discovery, involving weekly customer conversations, is essential, but must include critical thinking and reflection to avoid becoming routine.
Low- vs high-fidelity design: A balancing act (2 minute read)
Balancing low-fidelity and high-fidelity design is crucial for quick learning. Low-fidelity artifacts aid idea gathering and high-fidelity tools enable testing and sharing. The focus should be designing an effective feedback process using the most efficient tools, such as Maze, Figma, or live mockups for user testing, to reach value swiftly.