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Design
Notes, guides and the stories behind the work, on graphic design, print and the web.
Telling Photoshop what to do: Firefly AI Assistant
Firefly AI Assistant, which Adobe introduced in April, came inside Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign in June. You can now get work done across several apps with a single request. The part that will help me on the print side is file checking.
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What does Figma's new agent bring to designers?
At Config 2026 on June 24, Figma opened its agent to all paid plans. It doesn't work in a separate chat window, it works right inside your file. I looked at what has changed from a designer's point of view.
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A final check before sending files to the printer
Most jobs that come back from the printer with problems aren't caused by a design mistake, but by a small thing missing from the file. Here's what I check before sending a file.
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The shelf test in label design
It's easy to zoom in to 100% and study a label on screen. The real question is whether it gets noticed on the shelf from two metres away, among all the other products.
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From rough sketch to image in ChatGPT: what is Sketch good for?
OpenAI released ChatGPT Images 2.5 on September 8. The most striking new feature is Sketch: it uses whatever you roughly draw in the chat as a reference for the image. As a designer, where I think it will help me most is the early idea stage with clients.
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What do I leave to AI in a logo project?
AI tools come out with a new feature every month. I went through a logo project step by step and put together a single diagram showing which steps it makes sense to get help with and which ones should stay with the designer.
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Are business cards still useful?
Phone numbers get shared with QR codes now. Even so, business card orders haven't dropped. I think the reason is that a card doesn't just carry information, it leaves a feeling.
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The first questions I ask when a logo job comes in
When I get a "We need a logo, how much would it cost?" message, I don't quote right away. I ask a few questions first, because the answers decide half the job.
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Do you need a website if you have an Instagram page?
Most small businesses say "We have Instagram, that's enough." And it might be. But the moment a customer searches for you on Google is the moment the page alone isn't enough.
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Claude Code or Codex? Why I use Claude Code
I built this site from start to finish with Claude Code. I read the comparisons with ChatGPT's Codex, and here's why, as a designer, I chose Claude Code.
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