TLDR Design 2026-07-17

The Unicode Consortium is set to unveil nine new emojis—including Lighthouse, Eraser, Pickle, Monarch Butterfly, Meteor, and Cracked Smiling Face—ahead of World Emoji Day on July 17. These designs, shared by Unicode Emoji Subcommittee Chair Jennifer Daniel, are expected to reach keyboards by next spring, with some existing emojis redesigned for visual distinction. The Cracked Smiling Face, originally proposed as "Smiley Face with Squinting Eyes," is predicted to become the standout favorite among the new additions.

Google Vids is adding custom AI avatars that let users create videos starring a digital version of themselves using a selfie and voice recording. The update also brings Gemini Omni to Vids, enabling video generation from prompts and reference images, along with background swaps, lighting fixes, effects, and step-by-step edits. While positioned as a Google Workspace tool for business videos, the new avatar and editing features move Vids closer to AI video platforms like HeyGen, Synthesia, Captions, and D-ID.

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro is expected to launch in September, potentially as part of a new release strategy where Pro models arrive months before the standard iPhone 18. Rumors point to a refined design with a smaller Dynamic Island, a cleaner rear panel, a faster 2nm A20 Pro chip, a variable-aperture main camera, a larger battery, and improved AI performance, though the long-rumoured under-display camera still isn't expected. Pricing is likely to increase from the current $1,099 starting point, with estimates ranging from $1,199 to $1,299, while all details remain based on leaks and speculation.

As AI-generated media becomes harder to distinguish from human work, trust is eroding, prompting creators to reveal their process, tools, and behind-the-scenes work as proof of authorship. Provenance matters most for expressive work like art or film, where authorship shapes meaning, but barely registers for functional tools like transaction interfaces. The real challenge isn't documenting every step of creation, but recognizing when audiences actually care and designing disclosure accordingly.

Koto has launched CcType, a new type foundry that makes its design expertise available beyond its client work, following the same philosophy behind its free educational platform, Seasoned. Rather than releasing a large catalogue, the foundry debuts with a single typeface, CcTimeline, reflecting a deliberate "build in public" approach focused on quality, experimentation, and accessibility, with pricing aimed at freelancers and small studios. The initiative was inspired by the strong demand for Koto's open-source client typefaces and represents a broader effort to democratize high-quality design while continuing to refine the studio's craft in public.

AI interfaces are at a stage similar to the early web, with platforms introducing incompatible interaction patterns that create inconsistency, increase development costs, and make products harder for users to trust and adopt. The solution is to establish shared standards for AI interactions—such as how systems communicate confidence, cite sources, request permission, and hand tasks back to users—following the same principles that made the web more accessible, interoperable, and maintainable. Rather than creating isolated conventions, designers and developers should collaborate through existing standards bodies and open protocols to build a consistent AI ecosystem before proprietary approaches become entrenched.

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Facebook's interface gradually shifted from a predictable, chronological, user-controlled feed to an algorithm-driven system optimized for engagement over usability. Feature additions like groups, marketplace, and reels fragmented the once-coherent experience, increasing cognitive load without transparent explanation of personalization. This reflects a broader design lesson: products don't fail suddenly but drift through small, individually reasonable decisions that erode clarity and trust over time.

Product design drifted from crafting interfaces toward workshops, strategy decks, and process, with senior status increasingly tied to distance from actual design tools like Figma. This shift produced bloated design systems and impersonal products, prompting companies to question whether costly design teams were actually improving outcomes. AI's arrival now challenges designers to prove they can create what AI cannot, pushing the profession back toward genuine craft rather than process for its own sake.

Fold7Design created the branding for the UK's National Year of Reading 2026 around the idea of "Go All In," encouraging people to discover reading through their existing interests—such as sport, gaming, music, or fashion—rather than treating it as a duty.

Rumors suggest the iPad Mini 8, expected late 2026, will gain an OLED display and an A19 Pro chip, boosting appeal for creatives doing digital art and editing.