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Let’s get into it.
— Grayson

September gave us the iPhone Duo. October is when people actually get to use it.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone opens for preorders on October 16 and starts arriving October 23. Apple also says USB-C Apple Pencil support is coming later this year, which is probably the part I’m most interested in as a creative, however Apple has said there won’t be pressure sensitivity.

Procreate has publicly stated that they are working on Procreate Pocket for the iPhone Duo, and a sketchbook that folds into your pocket sounds pretty awesome. But the Duo might only be one part of Apple’s October...

The latest rumors point to:

Bloomberg reports that Apple plans to launch products faster and more frequently under John Ternus.

And if you’re looking forward to the new iPad mini, there’s another update worth watching: Canva says the new Affinity for iPad launches in November.

What are you waiting for? A new Mac, an iPad, or the Duo? Hit reply and let me know.

Recently I’ve noticed a trend where AI is getting suspiciously cute.

From the Meta Muse, to ChatGPT Dots, even to Notion’s Nosy. The era of cutemorphism is upon us.

and I have three theories on why this is happening:

1. AI is trying to gain our trust.

A lot of creatives are still skeptical of AI. There are concerns about training data, privacy, and what happens to our work – especially after the Adobe Terms of Service fiasco in 2024.

Now these companies are asking for even more access.

An AI agent can do things on your behalf. Depending on what you connect and allow, that can mean working with your files, using your computer, or helping manage your email.

I’ve tried this out, and it’s actually very impressive. But I also recognize that this is much bigger than typing a question into a chatbot.

My theory is that as AI takes on more responsibility, the branding is working harder to make that feel comfortable and cozy.

2. These characters solve a pretty interesting design problem.

How do you brand something that can write, talk, design, shop, and use your computer? A logo only gets you so far.

Mascots can listen, think, celebrate, get confused, and react. Add motion and sound, and suddenly the software has a personality.

It also feels familiar. We already like Tamagotchis, Labubus, and Jellycats. Giving AI some of that same energy makes sense.

3. I think this ends with everyone having their own extreme level of personalization.

Dots already lets you customize the name, shape, color, eyes, glasses, and accessories. ChatGPT already customizes the way it talks to you based on your personality.

I could see this going much further. A phone UI built around your habits. Software that looks different for each person. Eventually, AR Meta glasses that let you give your whole world a different theme.

That last part is my prediction. I could be completely wrong. But as a designer, I think this is worth watching. For now, the overly friendly characters might just be the start…

It seems every design app has been desperately trying to keep up with the others. Here are the highlights from September:

Affinity released over 60 new features and improvements, including a Blend Tool, scripting with Claude, deeper RAW controls, and native InDesign file import.

Meanwhile, Cavalry received more than 50 upgrades, including new filters, shapes, and an AI studio. Affinity files can now also open directly in Cavalry with their layers intact.

Canva is bringing Affinity, Cavalry, Flourish, and Leonardo together under the name ProSuite. Canva has come a long way from the app designers used to make fun of.

Reusable animation styles, audio on the timeline, animation for individual characters, words, and lines. And Lottie and dotLottie export. See more.

Photoshop’s new Relight feature lets you add up to three lights to an existing image and adjust their position, intensity, color, and diffusion. It’s available today in the desktop beta.

Adobe is also continuing its AI Assistant rollout across Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, and other apps. These were originally showcased at last year’s Adobe MAX.

A designer has gone viral for recreating Photoshop as a free, open source software. It’s fascinating to watch what the design community makes as coding becomes easier with AI.

Bonus: DaVinci Resolve released a ton of AI features from a face transformer to a speech generator. It also now lets you connect your AI agent to edit with AI. Are we entering a future where editing is as easy as chatting?

I put all of my thoughts on these suspiciously friendly characters into one video. If you want to see the mascots, how their branding works, and where I think this is going, check out my latest video Why Everything Is “Friendly” Now:

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

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