Feeling stuck, Creating custom art on Spotify, Apple Intelligence

Hi friends!

Have you ever been there? When you had to design a project, tried to brainstorm but nothing happens and you’re just staring at a blank page for hours, only to default to Pinterest? Tough times 😩

Breathe…💨

We can do this. Step away from the stress and put down that third cup of coffee.

The best thing you can do at the moment is to step away from the work, and look at other things for inspiration. Later, I share more on how I did this.

To break out of a creative rut, give yourself the space to play and experiment.

New styles, colors, or formats — just let your thoughts fly. You have control.

And I’ve rounded up some tools and trends to help you with that! The stuff below are all about giving you the freedom to customize — up to even the smallest details.

〰️ SVG patterns you can customize
〰️ Custom cover art on Spotify
〰️ Dark mode for Google Calendar
〰️ Handwritten SVG text animation

☁️ news & trends

You can now create your own custom cover art on Spotify

Beyond just uploading images for your playlists, you can now design your very own cover art in the app. Add a mask, effects, and manipulate texts — it offers a lot of customization so you can experiment. Try it out!

Google Calendar gets a dark mode

Toggle between light and dark options, or your device’s theme. Plus, Google Calendar is also getting a refreshed user interface. Pretty interesting, so keep a lookout!

Smart glasses powered by Apple Intelligence

Apple is testing out smart glasses in a new project called "Atlas." They’re asking employees to try out some of the current models and share their thoughts. For us designers, it might be time to practice some XR design?

Introducing Figma’s very own font - Figma Sans

Heard of Figma’s brand refresh? Part of it is also their new custom font. To complement their playful and dynamic vibe, the new typeface had a more straightforward and clean approach. What do you guys think about it?

🪐 launches & tools

Your SVG pattern playground, mainly coded by AI 🤯

Try the Design Code site to create, customize, and animate SVG patterns. It’s like a mix-and-match station for shapes, colors, and animations. Super precise controls too. Plus you can even export them to vectors, PNG, video, or GIF!

For the girlies who love elegant text animations!

Try Koshnus - a tool that lets you animate SVG text with a beautiful, handwritten effect. Choose a font that you like and have precise control of how each letter animates. Perfect for animating signatures, home page greetings or digital invites!

An AI-powered study buddy by Google — Learn About

Check out how this site makes learning fun again with its learner-friendly UI. You got interactive lists, prompts, quizzes, and it even clears up common misconceptions —to make deep-dives into subjects like history and astronomy feel natural and engaging.

🌼 what is new

With the holidays and end-of-year festivities coming up, I don’t know about you but I’ve been feeling kinda uninspired lately.

My mind is elsewhere thinking about the upcoming holiday trips, buying gifts, and family things.

It’s so easy to get caught up browsing online for inspiration, (I’ve been there too, scrolling on Pinterest or looking at other apps for hours).

But this year, I tried to step out of my usual routine and explore new mediums like 3D art.

BTW if you are thinking of exploring 3D art, I highly recommend womp3d. Not much learning curve - super easy!

Anyway, I also talked with my friends working in beauty marketing, and with other people outside my industry, and these really got my creativity going!

It just opened my eyes in different ways. For example, she shared with me how she gathered user research IRL and that was super inspiring.

So the next time you’re feeling stuck, take a moment to breathe, empty your mind, and try these:

• Explore new mediums. Sometimes a new tool is all you need. If you’re usually digital, try sketching or painting. Switching it up can spark fresh ideas!

• Try talking to people outside your industry. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Chatting with someone in a totally different field can give you fresh insights and unexpected ideas.

• Give yourself permission to play. Let go of perfect and just create for fun. Doodle, experiment, try something silly — no pressure, just pure creativity.

You can find inspiration in the most unlikely things — and isn’t that what makes creativity fun?

I recommend you browse online only as a last resort. Real inspiration is everywhere around us! ❣️

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See you on the internet 🌐,

Marisa | @meshtimes