We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Labor Day sales are rolling in, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before theyre over. You can also subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.Labor Day sales are already underway in major retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy. But if you're looking for deals on major appliances, tools, or home furniture, Home Depot's Labor Day sale will be a better fit for your needs. The sale is goes through the holiday on Sept. 1, and ends on Sept. 3. I used price-tracking tools to make sure these deals are solid and made a list of the best ones to make your shopping a little easier. Here are some of the best ones I've found. One+ 18V Lithium-Ion Starter Kit with 2.0 Ah Battery, 4.0 Ah Battery kit $79.00 at Home Depot $203.94 Save $124.94 Get Deal Get Deal $79.00 at Home Depot $203.94 Save $124.94 ONE+ 18V Brushless Cordless 4-Mode 1/2 in. High Torque Impact Wrench Kit with 4.0 Battery and Charger $159.00 at Home Depot $269.00 Save $110.00 Get Deal Get Deal $159.00 at Home Depot $269.00 Save $110.00 M12 FUEL 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Hammer Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit $199.00 at Home Depot $369.00 Save $170.00 Get Deal Get Deal $199.00 at Home Depot $369.00 Save $170.00 M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit 9-Tool Bundle $599.00 at Home Depot $1,099.00 Save $500.00 Get Deal Get Deal $599.00 at Home Depot $1,099.00 Save $500.00 20-Volt MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless 7-Tool Combo Kit $599.00 at Home Depot $949.00 Save $350.00 Get Deal Get Deal $599.00 at Home Depot $949.00 Save $350.00 M18 FUEL 120 MPH 500 CFM 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Handheld Blower $149.00 at Home Depot $199.00 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $149.00 at Home Depot $199.00 Save $50.00 M18 FUEL 8 in. 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless HATCHET Pruning Saw Kit $249.00 at Home Depot $499.00 Save $250.00 Get Deal Get Deal $249.00 at Home Depot $499.00 Save $250.00 Whirlpool 1.9 cu. ft. Over the Range Microwave $478.99 at Home Depor Get Deal Get Deal $478.99 at Home Depor Frigidaire 30 in. 5 Burner Freestanding Gas Range $648.00 at Home Depor $979.00 Save $331.00 Get Deal Get Deal $648.00 at Home Depor $979.00 Save $331.00 Whirlpool 33 in. 22 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator $1,498.00 at Home Depot $2,599.00 Save $1,101.00 Get Deal Get Deal $1,498.00 at Home Depot $2,599.00 Save $1,101.00 SEE 7 MORE Batteries are the lifeline of any drill, and you can never really have enough. If you're Team Ryobi, which I've enjoyed being a loyal user for years, you know you can use these batteries for more than just drills (most brands do this as well). This is a great time to stack up on some batteries, with the 18V Lithium-Ion Starter Kit with 2.0 Ah Battery, 4.0 Ah Battery kit just $79 (originally $203.94).The Ryobi ONE+ HP Brushless 4-Mode 1/2 in. High Torque Impact Wrench Kit is made for people who need power. Plumbers, mechanics, or anyone who uses a wrench often will appreciate a high-impact wrench. This one comes with a 4.0 Ah Battery and 18V Charger, which are powerful and last much longer than the basic battery. You can get it for $159 (originally $269).If you're Team Milwaukee or haven't committed to any specific brand yet but need some powerful drills at a great discount, the M12 FUEL 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Hammer Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit is $199 (originally $369). It comes with a subcompact hammer drill and an impact driver, along with four batteries. For those looking for even more tools from Milwaukee, the M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit 9-Tool Bundle is $599 (originally $1,099). This nine-tool combo tool bag brings a lot of essentials for anyone getting ready to be a DIYer, including an impact driver, leaf blower, saw, multi-tool, two batteries, and more. This is a great bundle with a 45% discount.If you're a DeWalt fan, this 20-Volt MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless 7-Tool Combo Kit is $599 (originally $949) and has a lot of the same tools for the same price as the Milwaukee tool kit. Fall is around the corner, and those leaves are about to fall and cover everything around your house. My portable blower has been one of the best investments I've made. If you're looking for one, you can get the M18 FUEL 120 MPH 500 CFM 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Handheld Blower for $149 (originally $199).Being comfortable with a saw can save you a lot of money from hiring arborists. The M18 FUEL 8 in. 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless HATCHET Pruning Saw Kit is an 8-inch saw selling for $249 (originally $499) after a 50% discount. It comes with a battery that can last over 150 cuts from a 6-inch diameter branch.Stainless steel is always a safe bet when it comes to appliances. Right now, the Whirlpool 1.9 cu. ft. Over the Range Microwave is $278 (originally $479) after a 42% discount. This microwave can steam cook and has a sensor that automatically sets cooking time based on what you're warming up. If you're in the market for a new gas range, the Frigidaire 30 in. 5 Burner Freestanding Gas Range is $648 (originally $979) after a 34% discount.The best deal on a 33-inch fridge in Home Depot right now is the Whirlpool 22 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator, currently going for $1,498 (originally $2,599). If this happens to be the size you need, you're in luck. This is the cheapest this fridge has been in months. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Google Pixel 10 128GB Unlocked Phone With $100 Amazon Gift Card (Obsidian) $799.00 (List Price $899.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) $849.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Dell 16 DC16251 (Intel Core 7 150U, 1TB SSD, 32GB RAM) $699.99 (List Price $949.99) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core $39.99 (List Price $69.99) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen, 2023) $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Deals are selected by our commerce team

The best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases do more than just guard against drops they can add MagSafe compatibility, extra grip, built-in stands or even a touch of luxury. Whether you're after slim and stylish, rugged and shockproof or something that adds a bit of personality, theres a case to match every need. With so many options to choose from, finding the best iPhone case overall depends on how you use your phone day to day. Maybe you need something minimal for pockets, or maybe you're after serious protection for travel and outdoor use. Either way, weve rounded up the best picks for both the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, so you dont have to waste time scrolling through endless listings. Best iPhone 16 cases for 2025 Best iPhone 16 case FAQs What is the most protective brand of phone cases? There is no one "most protective" brand of phone cases, but rather there are many that tout extra security for your handset. Some of the most protective phone cases we've tried come from Otterbox; most of the brand's cases have a bit more protection than your standard phone case, even the ones that are designed to be on the slim side. Otterbox also makes a wide variety of phone cases, so there's a good chance you'll find one that suits your style and provides the level of protection you're looking for. Otterbox's Defender series is one of the best you can get if you care first and foremost about making sure your phone survives all kinds of accidents (save for a dunk in a pool). Silicone vs hard case: Which one is better? Neither silicone nor hard cases are better than the other. Silicone cases tend to be thinner and feel soft to the touch, and they're often easier to put on and take off of phones. Hard cases can be on the thicker side, but they provide a bit more drop protection than silicone cases. Which type of case is best for you depends on the type of experience you want from your phone. It's also worth nothing that both silicone cases and hard cases come in a variety of colors, designs and styles, so you have plenty of choose from to match your personality on both sides. Does an iPhone 16 need a screen protector? The iPhone 16 features Apples tough Ceramic Shield front, which is definitely more durable than standard glass but its not invincible. If you want to avoid scratches from keys, drops onto pavement or just the wear and tear of daily use, a screen protector is still a smart move. It adds an extra layer of defense without getting in the way of touch sensitivity or Face ID. So, while its not absolutely essential, using one is a good idea if you want to keep your screen looking flawless for the long haul. Is the iPhone 16 drop-proof? The iPhone 16 is built to be tough, with Ceramic Shield on the front and a sturdy aluminum or titanium frame (depending on the model), but its not completely drop-proof. It can handle the occasional bump or short fall, especially if it lands on a flat surface but drops on concrete or at awkward angles can still cause cracks or damage. If youre prone to butterfingers, pairing your iPhone 16 with a durable case and maybe even a screen protector is the best way to play it safe. Georgie Peru contributed to this report.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-iphone-cases-153035988.html?src=rss

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could have a camera island and some upgraded cameras, but still be stuck with a 5,000mAh battery.

Of the seven people who entered the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith, two were employees, he told reporters during a briefing.

Go behind the scenes with Scanline VFX on their work for the Adam Sandler film.Kyle Newachecks Happy Gilmore 2 features a range of visual effects work overseen by production visual effects supervisor Marcus Taormina. For a number of the Maxi Golf events seen in the film, Scanline VFX took on the task of extending environments, generating crowds and dealing with some fun golf-related moments.In this interview, Scanline visual effects supervisor Dann Tarmy breaks down the work for befores & afters.b&a: How would you describe the style of VFX that Scanline had to orchestrate for its shows on Happy Gilmore 2? How did you perhaps lean into that style?Dann Tarmy: As a comedy, it was critical that the VFX of Happy Gilmore 2 be there to support the story and the humor, without taking away any focus from the actors performances. This was a topic that our production VFX supervisor Marcus Taormina and I got in sync on very early in the show, and to be honest we never needed to discuss it again. Much of the work we were creating was intended to be invisible VFX, and so the style we leaned into was precisely what they had filmed on set. Realistic, exciting, engaging, and above all, believable.b&a: For golf course scenes during Maxi Golf events, in general, how and where were these filmed? What approach did Scanline take to adding stadiums and extra environmental elements for these?Dann Tarmy: All of the Maxi Golf events that Scanline contributed to were filmed on location at a golf course in New Jersey. While we had shots sprinkled throughout these events, the three primary scenes that we worked on were the Maxi stage intros, the Maxi forest hole (the first hole of the contest), and the Maxi thousand yard hole (the final hole).For the Maxi stage intros, the Happy Gilmore 2 creative team wanted this to feel somewhere in the mix of a music festival, and a sporting event. We looked at a lot of images for events like Coachella, Osheaga, NASCAR, F1, and of course PGA events. Each had a specific vibe to them that we were able to learn and borrow from to find what would ultimately fit for a Maxi event. We presented several variations of concepts before we hit upon the right balance. From there, Scanline CG supervisor Mark Norrie guided the asset and shot teams efforts to create the necessary elements, and one of our comp supervisors Mauricio Valderrama Jr. helped bring it all together with the plates.The Maxi forest hole had a somewhat unique creative challenge. The story point was that the forest in front of the tee box was so dense and long, that the golfers would need to drive the ball over 500 yards to clear the trees, but from our research we could see that the average PGA golfer drives the ball under 300 yards, so it was important that in constructing the forest that there not be any gaps where it would look like a safe spot for the golfers to lay up. On top of that, we needed to find a solution whereby we could see over the forest, all the way to the putting green. Marcus provided us with a list of tree species that the head greenskeeper provided for the shoot location, which Scanline environments supervisor Thomas Warrender and Head of 3D Mathew Praveen used to create trees that would blend seamlessly with the photography. The team used SpeedTree to generate the foundation of each tree, as well as to add some subtle wind, and then used ForestPack to scatter the trees across the terrain. A background DMP was created for the putting green and distant environment.The bulk of Scanlines award took place on the final hole of the Maxi tournament, the thousand yard hole. The initial brief from the Happy Gilmore 2 creatives on this one was that it needed to appear long, predominantly flat, and dead straight. Very little of the environment from the photography was in line with this brief, and so it all needed to be replaced. We couldnt find any golf courses worldwide that had a hole that matched this concept, so while we had a few references, creating this fairway would take some experimentation on our part.For the fairway, one of our Scanline artists, Chris Pember, set about creating the initial environment by modelling the terrain, and then scattering the same trees we created for the forest hole. Additionally, he created CG grass as well with a ForestPack scatter. A simplified version of this environment build was used by our layout team, lead by Maegan Veloso, to help capture the feeling of extreme distance for each camera and lensing. This helped us come to the conclusion that literal distances didnt always ring true and we wound up creating bespoke versions of the environment from each location, splitting the work amongst many talented environment and DMP artists, so that the audience would feel what Happy Gilmore was feeling in those moments, that the distances were vast and he would need to hit the heck out of the ball if he was going to have a chance at victory. Thankfully, another of our comp supervisors Siddharth Shah had an eye towards keeping all of these environments in line with one another, while staying true to camera lensing so that the audience would never know.Once we reached the final putting green, the teeter-totter green, it was important that we could look back at what the golfers just accomplished in reaching the green in 2 shots. Due to the sheer volume of shots in this scene, Thomas and Mathew devised a plan to create a cyclorama to maximize efficiency. They worked with Scanline comp supervisor Khaled Zeidan and DFX supervisor Natalia de la Garza to ensure that the cyclo gave our compositors the ability to match the look of the fairway shots, while maintaining the flexibility to address client creative feedback.HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS (L to R) Joseph Vecsey as Billys Caddie (Co-Producer) and Haley Joel Osment as Billy Jenkins on the set of Happy Gilmore 2. Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix 2025.b&a: How did you tackle crowd shots in particular?Dann Tarmy: There was no singular solution to the crowd shots. We were fortunate enough that in some cases, Marcus had the opportunity to shoot some crowd tiles and some extras on bluescreen when he was on set for both the Maxi stage scene and the teeter-totter green finale. While those tiles were certainly used to their fullest extent, there were scenarios where the camera angles and lighting of the tiles were not viable and thats where we employed other techniques.At Scanline we have a library of stand-alone crowd elements, so I developed a Nuke based tool that would create a 2.5D card system for scattering, randomizing, and time offsetting each element. Using a Nuke based Metric3D surface normal estimation tool, we were able to generate normals for our card based crowds, and relight them to fit in with each plate. This approach was used for some of the stadiums in the flashback sequence, as well as in scattered shots throughout the show when we needed to patch small areas with extra people.In places where the tiles, bluescreen elements, and 2.5D cards could not be made to work, full CG crowd sims were employed. While Scanline CG supe Mark Norrie oversaw the creation of the crowd assets to ensure they matched the sequence wardrobes, crowd supervisor Krisztian Kinder oversaw the creation of the performance clips and simulations in Golaem to ensure that our CG crowd brought the necessary energy and vigor to support each and every scene.Finally, there was a pair of shots for which none of the above options would work. We didnt have bluescreen elements from that angle, our 2.5D card system lacked the performances requested by the Happy Gilmore 2 creatives, and it was close enough to camera that to use CG crowd would have been both time and cost prohibitive. For these shots we leaned on our colleagues Eyeline Studios to help create an element shoot. Eyeline virtual production supervisor Nhat Phong Tran led the efforts to tech-viz the shots in advance so that we were sure to get elements that matched the lighting and camera angles. The team then leveraged the superior lighting capabilities and controlled environment of its proprietary Light Dome stage to conduct a highly precise crowd element shoot.b&a: For that moment of Harley getting a large drive, can you break down what went into the digi-double build for that character? What were the challenges of replicating his costume? What reference did you look to for the golf swing itself?Dann Tarmy: The Harley digi-double build itself was pretty standard. Marcus had the actor playing Harley (Oliver Hudson) scanned while in wardrobe on set, and provided some reference photography as well. With that data, our assets teams set about modelling (supervised by Benjamin Lepine) and surfacing (supervised by Uira LAmour) every facet of his body and wardrobe, with groom and cloth setups (supervised by Cobol Yu) added on top. We also had a bluescreen reference of Harley swinging a club to get a feel for how the cloth elements of his wardrobe behaved so that our sims would feel natural and believable.For his swing performance, there were two aspects of the brief that we needed to focus on: making it look and feel like a pro golfers swing, and capturing the story point that this swing was anatomically impossible without the surgical procedure mentioned in the movie. Animation supervisor Mattias Brunosson and his team studied slow motion swings of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau to capture the nuances and timing of how they shift their weight, the angle at which they bring down the club, and the overall speed and timing of their swings.Once we had the swing in a good place, we then had to exaggerate it for the story point and rotate his hips and spine at both ends of the swing beyond what a normal golfer could achieve. Since Harleys jacket would cover much of the effect, we needed to find another way to help illustrate this. The reference Marcus and I came up with was the idea of wringing out a wet towel, with deep and twisted folds in the cloth. To achieve this we started with a base cloth sim to define where the twists and folds would fall, upon which we sculpted deeper more defined folds with a pass of shot modelling. Finally, we ran an updated cloth sim to give it that last bit of life.HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS (L to R) Haley Joel Osment as Billy Jenkins and Joseph Vecsey as Billys Caddie (Co-Producer) on the set of Happy Gilmore 2. Cr. Scott Yamano/Netflix 2025.b&a: For elaborate camera moves following golf balls in the air, can you talk about the particular challenges of bringing those moments to life (ie. synthetic courses, ball motion blur, virtual camera moves, etc)?Dann Tarmy: In each of our soaring golf ball shots, plates were filmed that initially were intended to serve as the primary camera move, with standard VFX additions of the golf ball, CG crowd and set extension. However, as often is the case for shots of this nature, once we get in there the shows creative requests end up pushing us towards full CG shots. That is precisely what happened on most of these shots for us.Any time youre doing a big, full CG shot with a complex environment and thousands of CG crowd agents, you run a host of into CG, render, and comp technical issues and that was no different in our case. Each of these shots took some of our best artists to manage all the files, and elements needed to even bring the shots together. Funny that you mention motion blur in your question. One of the decisions we made early on that ended up being a saving grace was that we rendered everything in these shots without motion blur, and used the motion vectors to add motion blur in comp. This enabled us complete control of the amount of motion blur on each element without having to go back to render for each change. In the end we settled on a recipe that had a slightly exaggerated motion blur on the environment closer to the camera, and less motion blur on the golf ball so that it would get lost in the shot.From the performance side, Scanline animation supervisor Mattias Brunosson and I studied a lot of real world golf drone shots to ensure we were creating a shot that felt physically real. He and his team of animators presented various camera and golf ball animation iterations, each one side-by-side with the footage of an actual professional golf shot, so that the Happy Gilmore 2 creatives could evaluate which felt best for this use case. In some cases we had to exaggerate the speed and dynamic nature of the shot to capture the energy of the story point being told, but it was always with an eye towards keeping it believable.The post Crowds, courses and some crazy fun effects: the VFX of Happy Gilmore 2 appeared first on befores & afters.

Hi everyone! October is here and we are happy to share that Cara will finally have our own table at Lightbox Expo this year! To celebrate our first ever in-person event, we are launching a series of 10 tote bags you can preorder for pick up at our booth at the end of this month.The tote bags feature artwork by Katsuya Terada, Wayne Barlowe, Jingna Zhang, Tobias Kwan, Beatrice Blue, Jeff Simpson, Jing Liang, Entei Ryu, and Weilin Zhang. The proceeds will go towards servers costs and expenses that keep Cara running, and we want to thank our friends and artists we discovered on Cara for donating their artwork to support our efforts and the platform. To preorder the tote bags, you can check out our Store or the product links below. We cannot ship any orders unfortunately due to our limited manpower at this time, so please only order if you can pick up your tote bag in person. We appreciate your understanding. Cara Lightbox Expo Tote Bags There are now over one million users on Cara, and we are grateful for the community that has come together. These tote bags are but a small slice of the types of illustrators, painters, animators, concept artists, photographers, sculptors, and art directors on the platform. We have also seen pixel artists, comic artists, graphic designers, motion designers, curators, storyboard artists, 3D artists, writers, and many more who have come together to share their work on Cara. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are thankful to everyone who checked us out and are building this community together with one another. We will continue to build so that even more creatives may find a home with us one day. If you are coming to Lightbox Expo, please definitely feel free to stop by our booth (909) to say hi! And to our coffee supporters, thank you! The Cara Team Artist Links: Beatrice Blue | Entei Ryu | Jeff Simpson | Jing Liang | Jingna Zhang | Katsuya Terada | Tobias Kwan | Wayne Barlowe | Weilin Zhang cara.app | twitter | instagram | buy cara a coffee Visit the Cara Web Store

For a farmer or gardener, fruit trees offer a way to make food (and sometimes money) with a minimum of effort, especially when compared to growing annual vegetables. Mature trees …read more

In Episode 7 of House of the Dragon Season 2, Wt FX showcases their mastery in effects simulation with sequences that push realism and scale to new heights. One standout moment involves Vermithors fiery reaction at the Dragonmont Gantry, where massive CG dragon fire was seamlessly blended with live-action fire stunt plates. The result is a visually stunning and physically believable burst of dragon fury.Another key challenge was the live-action beach sequence, which required intricate sand interaction to sell the immense weight and presence of the dragon. Wt FX delivered a flawless integration, using custom simulations that responded naturally to Vermithors movementcreating believable footprints, dust displacement, and environmental feedback.These FX simulations are more than spectaclethey ground the dragons in the physical world of Westeros, making them feel like real, living creatures. Its a perfect blend of art, physics, and cinematic storytelling.The post FX Simulations in House of the Dragon Season 2 Wt FX Breakdown appeared first on Vfxexpress.

The Eurovision Song Contest, the European musical showdown known for its glittery outfits, unusual performances, and over-the-top fanfare, is returning in 2026 for its 70th year. To usher in the anniversary, the competition just unveiled a rebrand, and fans arent thrilled.Next May, Eurovision (which moves to a new city every year) will be held in Vienna, according to a recent Instagram announcement. There, it will officially roll out its new logo, custom font, and brand symbol, all of which were revealed on August 18 and have since begun to appear on the contests social media accounts.[Image: Eurovision]The new look, which apparently was designed to bring more cohesion to Eurovisions look and make the brand more versatile on digital platforms, has attracted droves of negative feedback from fans. Commenters across social media say the branding has veered into cartoonish territory, with some even implying that the new wordmark and logo were generated by AI rather than human artists.Martin Green, director of Eurovision, says he was not at all surprised by the negative fan reaction, given that Eurovision has such a massive fanbase and any form of creativity is ultimately subjective. While he says that none of the rebrand was generated by AI, hes actually encouraged to see fans advocating for artists over AI.Its really good to see the fans on this, actually, because from a personal and professional point of view, I agree with a lot of them, Green says.Inside Eurovisions new brandingThe new Eurovision branding was designed through a collaboration between the European Broadcasting Unions in-house design team and the British branding studio Pals. Green says there were a few reasons for Eurovision to rebrand in 2026, starting with the fact that the competitions branding has remained largely unchanged for close to 15 years.We deal in pop music, and that pop music keeps us young and tells us whats going on in the world, he says. As a brand, we want to keep refreshed as well.Pals took the main Eurovision logoa hand-drawn script that launched in 2004 and was later refined in 2014and plumped it up with chunkier, curvier letters. Its a typographic choice thats been popular among companies across categories in recent months, from Burger King to Goodreads and Glossier.The former capital E in Eurovision has been swapped for a lowercase version, and the words song contest are now a more prominent part of the logo rendered in the same custom script.In addition, a bespoke typeface called Singing Sans will serve as the Eurovision brands main font. Its a sans serif that can be used for day-to-day needs like press releases, but its also available in an iteration with exaggerated curls for out-of-home messaging and social media. Adapting the brand for digital uses was another of Greens main goals with the new look.I think the last time we refreshed was about 14 years ago, Green says. Even back then, digital was still relatively early. Now we are enormously digital: We reach billions through our social media and our digital activity.To make Eurovisions identity more versatile online, Pals broke out the main logos heart symbol into its own asset called the Chameleon Heart, which can adapt to reflect the host nations identity, a performers individuality, or a particular theme, a press release reads. It can also stand alone in places like the competitions app icons.The key thing was that it really was a refresh and an evolutionwe didnt want to rip up the page, Green says. The brand obviously has great connectivity. Its got great recognition, but it felt a little too informal and laid-back. We wanted to boost it forward.Eurovisions director addresses AI accusationsSo far, the fan reception to the new branding on social media has been overwhelmingly negative. On Instagram and TikTok combined, the reveal has received nearly 5,000 comments, ranging from fans accusing the designers of using AI to generate the new assets to comparing it to the Pampers logo and Picsarts color gradient.[H]ey chat gpt, can you generate a new logo for eurovision, make it look childish, close to the old one but [Junior Eurovision Song Contest] coded, one Instagram commenter said. [I]ts like comic sans ms lol, another on TikTok added. This font came straight out of ChatGPT, a third said.Green has a long career history of working in major events, including serving as head of ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics, which received massive criticism at the time for its abstract logo. He says the fan backlash did not come as a shock.Its like the songs in the show: People love them, they hate them, they comment on them, he says. You always have to accept when youre refreshing anything that the fans are going to have an opinion. All we ever ask is, Be kind, but you can be criticalits absolutely fine. As fans begin to see more of the new branding, Green adds, hes confident that it will ultimately become more familiar and less controversial.To those speculating that the team used AI to generate Eurovisions branding, Green says that AI may have been used in the very early stages to brainstorm initial concepts, but none of the final branding was generated by AI in any way.A lot of this was hand-drawn by great artists, Green says. We havent used AI to create this. The fact that people feel it might be reminiscent of it, I think, is more about how AI is influencing design subconsciously, if you like. Thats the same thing as looking at the way that digital has influenced design, in terms of how legible and clear it is. The influence might be there, but it wasnt used to create it.

Copenhagen-based Bundle Studio was formed to explore the use of bio-based materials in furniture. "We believe designers must redefine material use for sustainability," write founders Jn Hinrik Hskuldsson and Kirstine Nrgaard Sejersen, "and we aim to create functional, aesthetically pleasing products that push the boundaries of sustainable materials and inspire industry change."Messing around with materials in the studio ultimately led to their Bundle chair: "Through extensive experimentation, we developed a stackable, lightweight mono-material chair by thermo-pressing flax fibres and PLA into rigid shells. The chair weighs 2.5 kg, with about half of that weight being bio-based plastic." "The project emphasizes material-driven design guided by creativity and curiosity, using biobased composites to challenge traditional plastic furniture construction. By splitting the chair into smaller components, we improved material efficiency and introduced a craft-like quality uncommon in plastic furniture. The incorporation of flax fibres into a PLA matrix makes the composite both biobased and biodegradable, reducing environmental impact." They then used what they learned with Bundle to create this much more refined Branch chair:"Building on our knowledge of flax fiber/PLA composites, we wanted to explore how the composite could be combined with other materials. The result is a side chair with a beech wood veneer frame and a thermo-pressed composite seat, balancing strength, sustainability, and a refined organic form language. Designed for practicality, Branch is stackable and weighs 4.5 kg." You can see how much work they put into the prototype and creating the molds for it: You can keep abreast of Bundle's work here.