Hi First name / friend, And just like that, it's May. Don't ask me where April went, I think that was the fastest month ever. How is your May looking? Any exciting plans or early summer holidays? I'm actually off on a trip on Monday with Flodesk - the email marketing platform this very newsletter is designed and sent from! They are fans of The Friday Finisher newsletter and very kindly wanted to get to know me better and allow me to meet the team. If you're a user of Flodesk yourself or have any burning questions about email marketing/design or anything else about the world of newsletters, reply to this email and I'll make sure to get it answered.Right, time for this week's design happenings. |
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The AI Trade-Off: Quality vs. Consent
Now that the buzz from Adobe MAX London has died down, one conversation stood out to me: ethical AI (a contradiction in terms?). Adobe openly admitted that their image generation model doesn’t always produce the most polished results, and that’s largely because they’ve taken a firm stance on only using licensed or rights-cleared images for training. That makes the outputs commercially safe (yay for us designers), but sometimes less flashy than what you’ll see from other models not owned by Adobe.
In contrast, many non-Adobe models pull content from all over the internet, often without permission, leading to more visually strong results, but with serious ethical grey areas. It’s a trade-off between creative freedom and creative responsibility, and it’s sparking some big conversations in the design world.
I found this article this week that I thought was worth a read. This only touches the surface of ethical AI, but I'd love to hear your opinions. |
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When Swiss Design Goes Pop
Eurovision 2025 just dropped its new look and it’s a love letter to Swiss design. Built around a clean, heart-based grid system, the identity mixes Swiss graphic precision with playful visuals that’ll pop up everywhere from stage graphics to tram wraps in Basel. It’s all about “Unity Shapes Love,” tying into Eurovision’s iconic heart and the spirit of connection.
They’ve also created a sound identity to match, blending yodelling, drum corps, and classic alphorns with modern beats. It’s weirdly cool and perfectly Eurovision. If you're outside of Europe and haven’t heard of Eurovision, well what can I say, you’re in for a wild (and wonderful) ride. |
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Here's A Mockup I Found This Week I’m always on the lookout for mockups that feel unique, something with character that hasn’t been used a thousand times. Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of designers relying on the same popular mockups. They’re clean, they work, but after a while, everything starts to look the same.
That’s why I liked this metallic street stand mockup from Mr. Mockup. It has a gritty, real-world feel that stands out from the typical polished studio scenes. It’s the kind of asset that makes your design feel more intentional and less like everyone else’s.
(Until everyone downloads and uses this one and we are back at the original problem ha!) |
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Pair Fonts Like a Pro Fontpair.co is a solid go-to for designers looking to find the perfect font pairings without the headache. The site offers a bunch of free, ready-to-use pairings from Google Fonts and Fontshare, and you can see them in action with live text samples before committing. It makes choosing fonts a lot easier and faster.
On top of that, Fontpair.co has a handy Chrome extension that lets you grab font and colour details from any website. So if you’re ever stuck or need some quick inspiration, it’s a great way to level up your typography game. |
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This is your sign to design for fun I came across a short Instagram video recently that really resonated with me. It was all about designing for fun and why it’s just as important as working on client projects. Sometimes, we get so caught up in delivering for clients that we forget how much freedom and creativity we can tap into when we design just for ourselves. These personal projects can actually open doors in ways client work can’t.
Designing for fun allows you to experiment, grow your skills, and push boundaries. It can also help you build a following of people who truly love your work, leading to opportunities and connections you wouldn’t expect. Plus, it keeps you motivated and reminds you why you fell in love with design in the first place. |
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NDSM
Amsterdam, 1033NA, The Netherlands |
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