Crazy week for AI Tools

Last week was fruitful for new AI releases, here is a quick overview:

1. Deepseek. A Chinese AI startup, just dropped DeepSeek-R1, an open-source AI model that holds its own against OpenAI's o1. What's really impressive is that DeepSeek-R1 gets similar results, but with way less training costs and computational resources. It uses something called a "mixture of experts" architecture, which activates 37 billion parameters during inference and makes it more efficient.

2. Operator by OpenAI. A new AI agent that handles tasks like booking restaurants or filing expense reports. It uses GPT-4 and reinforcement learning to interact with interfaces like humans. It's currently in research preview for the USA ChatGPT Pro users and has partnered with Instacart, Uber, and eBay to boost its capabilities.

3. Perplexity Assistant. Assistant uses reasoning, browsing, and other apps to help with daily tasks ranging from simple questions to complex multi-app actions. You can ask it to book dinner, find and play a forgotten song or a video, call a ride, get directions, draft an email, set reminders, and more.

4. Alibaba Qwen 2.5. Alibaba dropped a new AI model that they say is even better than DeepSeek's latest version.

The Future of Jobs Report 2025

UI and UX designers are some of the most in-demand jobs right now. On the other hand, graphic designers are facing a bit of a slump, mostly because automation and AI are taking over repetitive design tasks. If you're good at coming up with new ideas and can adapt to change, you'll do well in the design sector.

New Craftwork Products

Curated Design Websites

1. Sonar by Perplexity | Power your products with the fastest, cheapest API offering out there with search grounding. Get started in minutes.

2. Studio Almond | Shopify Plus Experts.

3. generalidea agency | Full service creative agency for aspirational brands.

4. Equals | The Connected Spreadsheet: Subscription Analytics, CRM, & BI.

5. Osmo | Start building websites people remember.

6. Designflows | The dazzling digital product design contest.

Figma Config Conference announcement

Figma has announced Config 2025, its annual design conference, to be held in San Francisco on May 7 and 8, and in London on May 14. They plan to divide their talks by Design craft, Dev & code, Product building & management and Figma deep dives. They also link to their guide for crafting an unforgettable Config Talk.

Inside Figma's Design File

Figma’s Figma File: An episode showcasing Figma’s own design files, providing insights into their design critiques, community redesign projects, and UI toolbelt designs.

Dropbox Branding Guidelines

A comprehensive resource detailing the visual and verbal elements that define Dropbox’s identity, including logo usage, color palettes, typography, iconography, and voice and tone.

Six memos for the future of digital creation

Figma’s “Six Memos” draws inspiration from Italo Calvino’s “Six Memos for the Next Millennium,” highlighting six key principles that guide Figma’s design philosophy:

1. Lightness: Emphasizing simplicity and ease of use in design tools to enhance user experience.

2. Quickness: Prioritizing speed and efficiency in design workflows to keep up with the fast-paced nature of creative work.

3. Exactitude: Focusing on precision and clarity in design elements to ensure high-quality outcomes.

4. Visibility: Ensuring transparency and openness in the design process to foster collaboration and understanding.

5. Multiplicity: Encouraging diversity and versatility in design approaches to accommodate various perspectives and ideas.

6. Consistency: Maintaining uniformity and coherence across design systems to create a seamless user experience.

Design systems 103: Documentation that drives adoption

Good documentation is the key to a successful design system. A well-structured guide makes adoption easier, reduces friction for new users, and improves collaboration between designers and developers.

How to make your documentation useful and user-friendly:

1. Think about your audience. Write with designers, developers, and product managers in mind, addressing their specific needs.

2. Use visuals. Include examples, diagrams, and animations to show components in action.

3. Keep it structured. Clear headings, logical sections, and a good search function help users find what they need quickly.

4. Keep it up to date. Document changes, add new patterns, and ensure everything reflects the latest version of your design system.

5. Create learning resources. Short tutorials and guides can help new users get up to speed faster.

Previous parts of design system articles

1. Design systems 101

2. Design systems 102: How to build your design system

Subway Stories

Subway Stories is an interesting project that looks at the daily life of the New York City subway system. By studying data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), it shows how passengers move through the network at different times.