A brief history of bad logo redesigns — and what designers can learn from them


Did you know we have an online conference about product design coming up? SPRINT will cover how designers and product owners can stay ahead of the curve in these unprecedented times. Logo redesigns are a lot like a tightrope act—on a windy day, in a pouring rain, no nifty balancing pole or safety net below. The risks are high, and the margin for error is thin. What’s at stake? Confusion. Outrage. Social media “shame-on-you”s. We form deep, emotional ties with logos. The shock of change has the power to trigger a disproportionate reaction regardless of a redesign’s quality. Social media logo…

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New study suggests this extremely dense star cluster is stunting planet formation


Using the Hubble Space Telescope researchers have conducted a pioneering 3-year study of the massive dense young star cluster Westerlund 2. In the process, discovering that dense clouds of relatively cool dust are curiously absent from material around the stars at the cluster’s heart. As these dense clouds are the seeds of planets that form over the course of millions of years, thus, planet formation is stunted in these regions. The astronomers believe that this dearth of dense dust and gas discs is a result of the cluster’s most massive and powerful stars eroding and dispersing them from around their…

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Fortunes are growing for Instagram’s best and brightest. Here’s what it takes to succeed


TLDR: This six-course package of Instagram marketing training explains who to gather over 10,000 followers, grow a brand and maybe even become an Instagram influencer yourself. Give it up for the ‘Gram. Because while Twitter and older sibling Facebook battle through seemingly endless streams of controversy and scrutiny, Instagram marches merrily forward. Just days ago, the social giant announced they’d soon be cutting in creators for part of the revenue on ads run on IGTV, Instagram’s long-form video hub. Meanwhile, Instagram has slowly become one of the most efficient social media centers anywhere for brands looking to sell products. Don’t…

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The case for biometric authentication — and why we should ditch passwords


According to Forbes, business leaders from a variety of industries have joined forces to face one unexpected enemy. That enemy? Log-ins and passwords. The group includes such giants as PayPal, Amazon, Visa, MasterCard, and Aetna. The unnamed members of the group are the millions of people who throw their “password” book across the room because none of the listed log-ins and passwords ever seem to work. We are all united in our hatred of log-ins and passwords, but what is the alternative? There has to be some way to combat fraud. There has to be a way to protect our accounts.…

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The Criterion Channel removes paywall on classic black cinema in support of Black Lives Matter


The Criterion Channel, one of the lesser-known streaming services, this week removed the paywall on several important movies from black filmmakers, allowing anyone to watch them for free. It also expressed its support of the Black Lives Matter and its commitment to financial support of civil rights organizations. Black Lives Matter. pic.twitter.com/aRwDVjuI0O — Criterion Collection (@Criterion) June 4, 2020 The Criterion Collection, the media company behind the site, posted a message on Twitter about using their platform to “highlight films that focus on Black Lives.” While you normally have to subscribe to watch films on its streaming platform, Criterion’s moved…

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Reddit’s co-founder resigns, asks to be replaced by black candidate


Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, today announced he’s resigning from that platform’s board to dedicate his time and money to “serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate.” I’ve resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate, + I will use future gains on my Reddit stock to serve the black community, chiefly to curb racial hate, and I’m starting with a pledge of $1M to @kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp — Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 5, 2020 With the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests over the…

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Bill Gates commits $750M to help Oxford vaccinate the world against COVID-19


The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $750 million towards the manufacturing and distribution a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University. The funds come as part of a deal with British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, who’s joined forces with organisations fighting to protect the world against infectious diseases like COVID-19: the Serum Institute of India (SII); the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) — of which the latter two are directly funded by Gates. Gates’ millions will support the delivery of 300 million doses of the vaccine, confusingly dubbed AZD1222, with the first shipments…

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Call of Duty: Warzone now shows message of support for Black Lives Matter


Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has updated Modern Warfare with a message of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The message, which appears on the game‘s Message of the Day segment, as well as the loading screen for its battle royale format, Warzone, shows solidarity for those protesting against racism and the senseless killing of George Floyd. Our community is hurting,” the message reads. “Call of Duty and Infinity Ward stand for equality and inclusion. We stand against the racism and injustice our Black community endures. Until change happens and Black Lives Matter, we will never truly be the community…

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Who’s allowed to track my kids online?


For two decades children’s digital privacy in the United States has been regulated by a national law: the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The law limits how companies can collect data on children under 13 years old. If website operators don’t properly adhere to the rules outlined in the act, they could face massive fines. In September, the Federal Trade Commission announced a record-breaking penalty against YouTube, in which the Google-owned service agreed to pay $170 million to settle alleged COPPA violations. But the law has also faced criticism, with some lawmakers and advocates arguing that it doesn’t go far enough.…

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Watch: Unboxing a $1,000 mail order electric car from China


China makes and consumes more electric vehicles than any other nation in the world. It just so happens to make some of the most bizarre ones too. The good folks over at Jalopnik, an online motoring magazine, have given us a look behind the curtain with one of their latest videos. In it, they unbox what is apparently world’s cheapest new car. The all-electric Changli — no, I’d never heard of it either. Jason Torchinsky, Jalopnik’s senior editor, has the pleasure of unveiling the unique ride and, well, it’s certainly cheap. While the “car” started out at around $930 (Torchinsky got…

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