Laurence Hardy

09/24/2025

Flat design is out. Apple just bet big on “Liquid Glass.” Why now? Let’s unpack it.

The Shift: From Flat to Fluid
Apple says Liquid Glass introduces three major benefits. Here’s how I see it as a digital designer:

1. Unified Design Language

• Apple claims Liquid Glass creates consistency across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, tvOS, and visionOS.

• Apple already had a coherent style. Why overhaul instead of refine?

2. Expressiveness, Depth, Vitality

• Described as translucent, adaptive, and context-aware — morphing with content, light, and environment.

• This is the most convincing reason to me. Apple is clearly building toward a world of smart glasses and AR/VR, where transparent, adaptive menus will feel natural.

3. Personalization & Expression

• Customizable icons, tinted modes, dynamic wallpapers, spatial scenes.

• Feels more like a marketing lever than a UX breakthrough. Too much variation can harm usability — and give developers night terrors.

What do you think — does Liquid Glass improves user experience, yes or no?

09/17/2025

Let’s work together.

09/08/2025

09/05/2025

Rest in power, king 👑

08/26/2025

Some brands launch products. The smartest brands launch movements.

David Protein built a brand playbook worth studying:

• They started with an unassailable value prop: you can’t beat our numbers.
• They branded around simplicity and art: trucks in NYC that looked like moving billboards for nutrition data.
• They used TikTok Shop as rocket fuel for adoption.
• And then—they layered in a world-class creative director, Sara Rados; someone who could take a launch and make it feel like cultural marketing.

That sequencing — truth → channel dominance → distribution → creative leadership — is why they’ve become a viral success story.

The lesson for creative leaders: if your product is strong but your brand isn’t scaling, you don’t need another ad. You need a creative leader who can translate product truth into culture.

This is what design at the executive level unlocks.

👉 Curious to hear from other brand leaders: which new brands have impressed you most with their creative strategy?

08/25/2025

Read caption below 👇

A kid at a Major League Baseball game shoved his face into a huge bag of popcorn. The video went viral, and MLB even shared it, saying, “No chance you had a better day than this kid.” Everyone loved it — it looked funny and real.

But here’s the problem: some people online are saying the video might be AI-generated. Even though it’s probably real, these kinds of rumors can hurt brands and creative teams.

When your team works hard to make content, one comment claiming it’s fake can make people doubt the authenticity of your work. Fans might think your team is copying or cheating. Engagement can drop, trust can erode, and the effort your creative team put in might not get the credit it deserves.

In short: AI skepticism can turn even genuine content into a reputational risk. For brands and creative teams, this is a new challenge — proving that your work is real and protecting your team’s credibility is now part of the job.

08/25/2025

I’m not pro-AI or anti-AI. I’m both thrilled by its potential and worried about its costs.

The internet debates? Exhausting. Some act like typing into ChatGPT once is moral treason. Others want to automate every aspect of life. I fall somewhere in between.

Generative AI is a tool — probably overhyped, definitely disruptive. Use it if it helps you create better work. Ignore it if you prefer. Just make sure the output is yours. Creativity is still human.

But let’s not ignore the dark side:
•Many LLMs were trained on scraped, copyrighted art. That’s stolen work.
•Data centers powering AI are CPU-hungry, polluting, and often short-cutting sustainability.

AI can increase business and personal leverage — but at what cost? Artists deserve choice and compensation. Data centers should offset emissions. Companies must be accountable.

Organizations like Partnership on AI are already pushing for fairness, transparency, and ethical AI. Supporting this work is critical.

If your creative team is thinking about AI ethics, let’s talk. I’ve been exploring these issues since generative AI went mainstream, and I’d love to share insights.

08/23/2025

New Typeface, New Rhythm

New typeface alert: Muse Display isn’t just letters on a screen—it’s harmony, rhythm, riff, and symphony. Every curve and counterform was crafted to feel like music itself, turning the brand identity into something you don’t just read, but hear.

Collins nailed the design. It’s ambitious, expressive, and bold—exactly the kind of visual identity you’d expect for a company built on sound. But here’s the reality: design doesn’t live in the agency presentation deck. It lives (and dies) in the daily work of in-house teams.

That’s where the challenge begins. Even the most stunning design systems can lose their edge if:
•Guidelines are too complex to follow consistently.
•Teams lack experience in translating concepts into real-world use.
•Execution across digital, print, and product isn’t aligned.

Think of it like writing a symphony—you can hand musicians the sheet music, but the performance depends on their skill, interpretation, and ability to stay in sync.

The real test of Muse’s new identity won’t be in case studies or Behance slides. It will be in how consistently and confidently their internal team carries it forward—day after day, campaign after campaign.

Because design isn’t just about beauty. It’s about endurance. And endurance comes from the hands of the people who use it most.

👉 What do you think: is it harder to create a bold identity, or to sustain it over time?