In this episode, Luigi and Ravi try to figure out and predict what would the Apple Vision Pro’s future mean for users, developers, and designers.

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied

Referenced:

• https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi speak with Michael Flarup, icon designer, game developer, and fascinating creator. Michael discusses the significant yet often overlooked role of app icons in our lives, particularly their impact on our interaction with technology. Michael has dedicated a big part of his career to making some of the most ‘iconic’ app icons, which lead him to author the iOS and macOS App Icon books (you can find them below).

Throughout the episode, they explore the intersection of art and utility in app icon design. Michael shares why he dedicated his career to this space, providing insights into his creative process and when it is time to rethink your app icon. The app icon is the user's first interaction with a product, making it a great opportunity to enhance the user’s connection with your product.

Finally, they discuss Michael’s ventures beyond digital design and his experience in making video games, including insights from his upcoming title "Dinolords".

Referenced:

• The iOS App Icon Design Book: https://flarup.shop/products/the-ios-app-icon-book

• The macOS App Icon Design Book: https://flarup.shop/products/the-macos-app-icon-book

• Article - The Comeback of Fun: https://applypixels.com/blog/comeback

• Article - The Hunt for the Squircle: https://applypixels.com/blog/the-hunt-for-the-squircle

• Templates and resources: https://applypixels.com/

• Northplay YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@northplay

• App icon book: https://www.appiconbook.com/

• Dinolords game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2587620/Dinolords/

• Michael on X: https://twitter.com/flarup

Support Design By Us:

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi dive into the vibrant transformation of Reddit's rebrand. As Reddit gears up for a potential 2024 IPO, our host explore the brand elements, from the beloved Snoo mascot to the unique terminology of 'r/' and the iconic upvote-downvote mechanisms. Pentagram, the design powerhouse, plays a crucial role, identifying four key traits that define Reddit's essence.

They discuss the character development process, from rendering the 2D Snoo icon in 3D to introducing a menu of emoji-like Snoos. Also, they mention the new core illustration style, featuring heroic 3D icons. How the typeface undergoes a transformation with Reddit Sans and the addition of a conversation bubble, mirroring core user actions.

Additionally, Luigi and Ravi highlight how motion design takes center stage, relying on multimodal elements, including a character hero with an expressive antenna. They explore the simplified color palette and its impact on Reddit's use and product development.

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied

Referenced:

• Reddit Rebrand by Pentagram: https://www.pentagram.com/work/reddit/story

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi deep dive into Humane’s new product—the AI Pin, a wearable gadget that transcends norms with its projected display and AI application. They begin with a glimpse into the talented team behind Humane, including ex-Apple members who played key roles in iPhone, Safari, mouse, and other Apple innovations. Additionally they discuss the storytelling of the brand, an exploration of CosmOS, emphasising its unique selling point—speed of thought—powered by OpenAI. Finally, they debate privacy concerns, and how the AI Pin can potentially disrupt the way we interact with devices.

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied

Referenced:

• Humane’s Website & AI Pin Presentation: https://hu.ma.ne/
• Imran Chaudhri’s Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMsQO5u7-NQ
• Humane’s Team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJxWpsuChk

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi dive into the world of Gran Turismo's game design. They begin with the inception of the iconic series, highlighting Gran Turismo 1's remarkable journey. Additionally they discuss how hardware optimisation sets the design of the game, from 300 polygons in early games to 500,000 in Gran Turismo 5. They also discuss Gran Turismo Sophy, an AI that sees the virtual environment as a dynamic map, using machine learning algorithms to adapt to various conditions.

Luigi and Ravi explore the intersection of game design and technology, discussing Vision GT, VR's role, and the balance between fantasy and authenticity. Finally, they wrap up with a critical analysis of game design principles, citing Rahul Vohra's insights and expressing disappointment with Gran Turismo 7's missed opportunities.

Support Design By Us:

• Check out: ⁠⁠byus.design⁠⁠

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: ⁠https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus⁠

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm⁠

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono⁠

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied⁠

Referenced:

• Video game progression: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae_zvm0-CQU&t=929s⁠
• How GT Sophy actually works: ⁠https://www.gtplanet.net/how-gran-turismo-sophy-actually-works-more-details-on-polyphony-digital-and-sony-ais-new-technology/⁠
• Fans react to GT7: ⁠https://www.reddit.com/r/granturismo/comments/12ao265/greed_isnt_the_root_of_gt7s_bad_game_design_kaz_is/⁠
• The cool story about simulation: ⁠https://venturebeat.com/games/how-dangerous-race-driving-helped-sonys-kazunori-yamauchi-design-gran-turismo-6-interview/⁠
• Rahul gives a bit on Game Design: ⁠https://a16z.com/game-design-not-gamification-for-great-products/#:~:text=Game⁠ design is not gamification.,have to understand human motivation
• Ferrari GT: ⁠https://www.gran-turismo.com/gb/news/00_5276938.html⁠

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi dive into aftermath of Apple's 'Scary Fast' Event. Apple unveiled the new M3 chip lineup. They dissects the event, discuss the manufacturing of the 3 nanometer technology and how Apple decided to position the new chip to gamers and AI developers. Luigi, brings a theory about the new Apple Pencil, and how it might be used with the new Vision OS. Ravi raises a thought-provoking question, pondering who is the real target audience for the MacBook Pro.

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied

Referenced:

• Apple Event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctkW3V0Mh-k
• Behind the scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3dbG9pAi8I
• Insight into company 3: https://www.company3.com/

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi dive into a brief story about Shazam’s user experience evolution. A journey that began in 2002 and reached new heights with Apple's acquisition in 2018. Shazam's ingenious design simplified the user experience, addressing music discovery and a vast song database. Explore how a simple text-based interface transformed the way we identify songs. Luigi and Ravi also discuss the technological marvel that powers Shazam, from acoustic fingerprinting to spectral analysis. Learn how it turned complex audio data into song names with a single button press. Finally they discuss the future of music discovery, similar to the Music Genome Project and its impact on music curation.

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design

• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono

• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied

Referenced:

• Ishkur’s Guide to Music: https://music.ishkur.com
• Everynoise: https://everynoise.com/engenremap.html
• Music Genome Project: https://community.pandora.com/t5/Community-Blog/MGP2-What-s-Next-for-the-Music-Genome-Project/ba-p/120065
• The Toptal article Ravi kept talking about: https://www.toptal.com/algorithms/shazam-it-music-processing-fingerprinting-and-recognition
• Shazam Kit: https://developer.apple.com/shazamkit/
• Story of Shazam’s team: https://medium.com/swlh/the-story-of-shazam-the-startup-days-6bccebd17d84
• How Shazam works: https://youtu.be/b6xeOLjeKs0?si=h8TF4GdHdmlyGl21
• Spotify’s AI recommendation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGntmcy_HX8

In this episode, Luigi and Ravi are joined by the visionary Dr. Nikhil Jacob as we embark on a journey into the world of mixed, virtual, and augmented reality. Nikhil is a researcher in human computer interaction, iOS developer, author, and a forward thinker trying to empower creators to push the boundaries of mixed reality experiences.

We dive into Nikhil’s content creator journey in the spatial computing era, where the digital and physical realms converge. He shares his firsthand experience of navigating the spatial computing development experience, and why it represents great opportunities for the creative problem-solvers in the world. We also discuss which platform is better positioned to succeed in the mixed reality market between Apple and Meta. Finally, we discuss the nature of reality where the digital and physical world blur, future of human interaction, and which could be the killer app for this platform.

Referenced:

• Nikhil’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2p6W2C-fLuibH7G8uVbuNg

• Nikhil’s Book - The Next Big Skill: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-Big-Skill-Nikhil-Jacob-ebook/dp/B0CH7HT1QW

• Nikhil’s Course - Reality Uni: https://www.realityuni.com/

• Meta Codec Avatar: https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/28/22751177/facebook-meta-codec-avatar-real-time-environment-rendering-neural-interface

• Apple Vision Pro: https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/

• Meta’s Oculus: https://www.meta.com/gb/quest/quest-pro/

Support Design By Us:

• Follow designbyus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/designbyus_fm

• Find more content and support us on Patreon: https:/www.patreon.com/designbyus

Where to find Luigi and Ravi:

• Check out: byus.design
• Follow Luigi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigi_dintrono
• Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raviisoccupied