By CHRIS McGOWANDaredevil, Colossus and other Marvel characters in the Electric Theatre Coke commercial bridged high-end visual effects and classic comic book art.(Image courtesy of Coca-Cola and Marvel Comics)Its not just advances in traditional VFX software that are transforming advertising, its the rise of emerging technologies like generative AI that is reshaping the approach to short-form content creation, according to Piotr Karwas, VFX Supervisor at Digital Domain. From early stages like storyboarding, concept art and previs, to sometimes even contributing to the final image, this hybrid method of blending generative AI with classic VFX techniques marks an entirely new chapter in effects production, Karwas states. Real-time rendering with game engine technology is becoming an increasingly integral part of our VFX workflow. It plays a particularly significant role in previsualization and motion capture, enhancing both speed and creative flexibility.Karwas notes, Digital Domain has a remarkable history of producing high-impact visual effects for advertising and short-form content, consistently pushing the limits of what is achievable in the medium. Since its founding, the studio has delivered cinematic quality and compelling storytelling in commercials, collaborating with some of the industrys most visionary directors, including David Fincher, Mark Romanek, Michael Bay and Joe Pytka.Rodeo FX crafted 3D billboards in Times Square and Piccadilly Circus to advertise the survival-horror video game The Callisto Protocol. (Image courtesy of Rodeo FX and Striking Distance Studios)Whether its crafting hyper-real environments, photoreal digital humans or seamless compositing for global campaigns, Digital Domain has played a pivotal role in redefining audience expectations for brand storytelling, Karwas says. From Super Bowl commercials to global product launches, he comments, the studios ability to combine cutting-edge visual effects with engaging narratives has made it a preferred partner for major brands aiming to make a bold and immersive statement in a competitive advertising landscape.Visual effects and advanced digital technologies are transforming how brands engage with audiences, adds Karwas. This includes the growth of interactive and immersive advertising. He explains, Digital Domain is at the forefront of this change, utilizing its innovative digital human technology to create experiences that go beyond traditional media. A powerful example is The March 360, a real-time virtual reality experience that not only tells a story but also places viewers inside a pivotal moment in history. By authentically recreating the 1963 March on Washington and digitally resurrecting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to deliver his I Have a Dream speech, Digital Domain has shown how VFX can produce emotionally resonant and immersive content that is both historically significant and technologically innovative. This goes beyond mere advertising; it is experiential storytelling that blurs the line between reality and digital creation, engaging audiences on a deeply human level.Electric Theatre Collective demonstrated cutting-edge visual effects in Coca-Cola The Heroes, for which it won the Outstanding VFX in a Commercial prize at the 2025 VES Awards, as well as the best Lighting & Compositing award. Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, the project merged two iconic brands: Coca-Cola and Marvel. The visual effects and animation were integral to the storytelling. From the outset, the campaign needed three things: carefully designed interpretations of key Marvel characters, CG development and animation of those characters, and vibrant color grading, says Ryan Knowles, Electric Theatre Collective Creative Director.After some early engagement where we created some test animations for Antoine and the agency, GUT [Buenos Aires], we were brought in as a key creative partner for the campaign, comments Greg McKneally, CG VFX Supervisor at Electric Theatre. The brief for this project was to bring illustrated and sculpted Marvel heroes to life, seamlessly embedding them in the real world of a comic shop. We needed to tell a dramatic story while retaining a unique look for each character based on the medium they originated from: comic book, t-shirt or collectible. McKneally notes, With dynamic camera work and physical interactions, we decided the base of each character needed to be CGI. To maintain authenticity, we used traditional 2D animators, illustrators and painters throughout the process, adding hand-made elements into scenes. This approach allowed us to bridge the worlds of comic book art and high-end CGI, allowing for complex scenes in the physical world of the set, with a hand-crafted 2D feel.McKneally continues, Our primary software pipeline involves Maya for modeling, rigging and animation; Houdini for shading, scene assembly, lighting, FX simulation and rendering; and Nuke for compositing. Houdini, and a number of different custom tools built within it for the project, formed the backbone of the creation of the stylized character, including Paintify 2.0, which allowed us to create Daredevil as a moving water-color and pencil illustration.To achieve the look of Black Widow as a 2D illustrated character moving in three dimensions, Electric Theatre worked with a traditional comic book concept artist to develop a set of consistent illustrations. Knowles explains, These were used as a guide for the development of the CG character, and we also trained a bespoke machine learning model on this original concept art. This machine learning model was used to process and filter some of the CG renders of the character. It was a key ingredient in the recipe of the final look of Black Widow, which was crafted in compositing.Simple real-time rendering was used extensively in the previs phase of the project, during which we carefully mapped out each camera move and blocked out the animation for the scenes in Maya, McKneally says. We were able to rough out the placement of the lights and key shadow elements, as well as the characters themselves. To create the unique shading style of Juggernaut, we built a custom shading system which generated the shadows as geometry in the scene, meaning that the artists working in Houdini had a real-time preview that was very close to the final look of the character.For the Malaria Must Die TV spot campaign, Digital Domain utilized Charlatan technology to age David Beckham nearly 30 years to deliver a powerful speech and message. (Image courtesy of Malaria Must Die campaign and Digital Domain)Rodeo FX has delivered visual effects for commercials for many notable clients, including McDonalds. (Images courtesy of Rodeo FX and McDonalds)Electric Theatre brought Juggernaut and other Marvel superheroes to life in the real world of a comic-book shop, and Marvel together with Coca-Cola. (Image courtesy of Coca-Cola and Marvel Comics)The biggest challenge in this project was that each character required a different technical and creative approach, McKneally says. For example, while Colossus is a resin maquette and could use a more conventional CG approach, Juggernaut is inspired by 1980-1990s comics. He is a 3D animated character, but has a limited color palette and uses a bespoke shading system, hatch line geometry, mid-tone shadow mattes which reveal classic printed half-tone shading, and hand-painted 2D animated expressions. All of this was composited together with mis-printing filters, bleed, grain and irregular line work to achieve the final look. McKneally adds, Meanwhile, Captain America and the comic book city features custom toon shaded CG, hand-painted buildings carefully recreated and textured in CGI, hand-painted skies, a custom line-work system, 2D FX animation and crowd simulations.Daredevil was one of the most complex challenges. His entire look is an evolving water-color painting with pencil details, Knowles comments. The paint strokes that define his form had to feel 2D but still react in a realistic way to the lighting of the environment he was moving through. This was achieved in a combination of 3D lighting and an evolution of our bespoke 3D paint system in Houdini originally developed on Coca-Cola Masterpiece and then assembled and finessed in the hands of the compositors. According to McKneally, 3D animation and compositing tools are progressing at a rapid rate. This, combined with the incredible pace of development for machine learning tools, means that the tech landscape for visual effects in advertising is evolving at speed. At Electric, we have created a workflow that allows artists to harness the latest developments in image generation, animation, rendering and compositing, staying nimble and flexible enough to swap new tools into our workflow as the technical or creative demands evolve. Were finding many projects now benefit from a bespoke combination of traditional and emerging tools.Knowles observes, One of the biggest challenges we have seen comes from rapid AI image generation. Polished images generated by all parties agencies, clients, directors which help to sell a concept or idea, but risk shortcutting the creative development. Its a high level of finish in a very short time, but can often lack the nuance, depth and personality that multiple iterations in a traditional concept art development process can achieve. We strive to strike a balance. Knowles adds, To bring this nuance back into the fold, our creative team uses a mix of traditional design and animation workflows to iterate ideas and then engage custom machine learning workflows to add polish and variation. This allows for rounded creative development with the high level of finish now expected by agencies, directors and clients. As machine learning image and video generation becomes more and more available and quality improves having the ability to guide the artistry that underlies the final image becomes even more valuable for creating original, breathtaking work, McKneally explains.As an end-to-end production house, VFX is at the heart of what Alongside does, says Glen Taylor, Founder of Alongside Global. VFX is central to our efforts in the advertising industry, and this trend isnt slowing down. We use it all the time to drive storytelling, realism and creative innovation. From compositing and CG to AI-enhanced workflows, VFX helps shape our final output across our projects. We just created a new website for the healthcare company Calcium, where we built an asset in 3D. VFX spans mediums.The pace of change is intense in VFX software and tech and greatly affects advertising. New tools are released every day face swaps, language transcription and translation, and AI scene building, to name a few, Taylor says. Unreal Engine is already transforming how we work. It allows for live client feedback, instant changes and scalable outputs from AR and VR to social and film. Once we hit photorealism in real-time, it will become the core production tool. He adds, The challenge is knowing what to use and when. Were experimenting constantly, especially with AI-generated content thats licensing-safe and creatively sound. The goal isnt to replace creativity its to move faster and smarter.Deadpool enjoys popcorn and a Coke in the comic-book shop created by Electric Theatre. (Image courtesy of Coca-Cola and Marvel)Rodeo FX Ads & Experiences helped create the immersive event Stranger Things: The Experience, working with Netflix, Fever, Mycotoo and Liminal Space. (Image courtesy of Rodeo FX and Netflix)Rodeo FX worked on visual effects for Tiffany & Co. as part of the global About Love brand campaign. (Image courtesy of Rodeo FX and Tiffany & Co.)Rodeo FX has delivered visual effects for many advertising clients, including McDonalds, Nissan, Red Bull and Tiffany & Co. Ryan Stasyshyn, VFX Supervisor and head of the Toronto office for Rodeo FX, remarks, Content creation has become remarkably accessible, especially with the integration of AI. Simultaneously, our clients are increasingly seeking greater levels of collaboration throughout the creative process. Real-time rendering is coming into play in production and VFX for advertising. That said, I think its worth noting that real-time has a number of hurdles that need to be addressed before it becomes the mainstay of the industry. In regard to real-time rendering to output final frames in a traditional VFX approach, I believe the industry is at that point and, depending on the studio, is either there or going to be there shortly. As real-time rendering pertains to virtual production, I think its use has shown real promise but also a large barrier, with education of the users being the biggest hurdle. The technology is there, and the talent in the industry can certainly support it. I think we may have done ourselves a disservice by overhyping it a little too much out of the gate and sometimes setting unrealistic expectations.The Electric Theatre ad, uniting 2D and 3D animation with live-action in a comic-book shop, won VES awards given in 2025 for Outstanding VFX in a Commercial and Outstanding Lighting and Compositing in a Commercial. (Image courtesy of Coca-Cola and Marvel)The TIME magazine cover image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was created using a historically accurate 3D rendering of King drawn from The March, a virtual reality experience that depicts the 1963 March on Washington. (Image courtesy of Digital Domain, Hank Willis Thomas and the Martin Luther King Jr. Estate)Erik Gagnon, VFX Supervisor and Flame artist for Rodeo FX, says, Rodeo FXs work in advertising is decisively oriented toward the future through the proactive integration of artificial intelligence into our creative process. This approach enables us to provide our clients with a highly personalized and innovative partnership, elevating their original concepts into stunning visuals and unique storytelling experiences. Advancements in VFX tools and technologies are profoundly transforming our approach to advertising. Today, we focus less on isolated software and more on comprehensive ecosystems of specialized tools, allowing us to push creative boundaries. These developments make our production pipelines more adaptive and supports artists in becoming increasingly versatile and agile.Gagnon continues, We are witnessing the rise of interactive and immersive advertising powered by VFX. Rodeo FX has crafted visually compelling experiences, such as 3D billboards in iconic locations like Times Square and Piccadilly Circus for The Callisto Protocol. Additionally, during the Cannes Film Festival, Rodeo FX Ads & Experiences created an ingenious activation for Stranger Things, captivating attendees and sparking their imaginations. The synergy between VFX, advertising, and experiential marketing represents an ideal combination to genuinely bring brands to life. By integrating cutting-edge visual effects into interactive environments, we engage audiences more deeply, stimulating their senses and creating memorable brand connections. This powerful blend not only elevates brand awareness but also ensures impactful and lasting impressions.Franck Lambertz, VFX Supervisor and head of Rodeo FXs Paris office, sees AI-powered image and video generation as an exciting new playground. He notes, While the technology is still developing and can be unstable, we see it as another valuable tool in our creative arsenal. It still requires passion and expertise to avoid clichs and elevate the final result. Our roles may become less technical and more focused on creative leadership. Lambertz continues, Increasingly, clients arrive with well-developed reference decks. Thanks to tools like Midjourney, some directors have already visualized their concepts. This makes the creative process more efficient and enables us to work together more effectively to finalize the vision. Lambertz adds, Sometimes, clients challenge us with real-time projects. Depending on the brief, we assemble the right pipeline and talent to deliver top-tier visuals. Recently, we completed a VR experience for a live event in Paris our first time producing a 7K, 60fps stereoscopic render, fully synchronized with fan and lighting effects. Watching the team immerse themselves in the experience with VR headsets and exchange feedback was a memorable moment. Concludes Karwas, Advertising is rapidly entering a new era. The integration of generative technologies and VFX is unlocking entirely new possibilities for connecting with audiences, enabling brands to engage and interact with customers in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Its time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, and free-to-play games topped last months download charts. September saw sports rise to the top again as NBA 2K26 led the league in the US, while EA Sports FC 26 took charge in the EU charts for PS5, with Borderlands 4 and Hollow Knight: Silksong also performing strongly. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra found success on the free-to-play charts in both the US and EU.Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?PS5 GamesUS/CanadaEUNBA 2K26EA Sports FC 26Borderlands 4Hollow Knight: SilksongEA Sports FC 26Borderlands 4Hollow Knight: SilksongNBA 2K26EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26Dying Light: The BeastDying Light: The BeastGrand Theft Auto VGrand Theft Auto VForza Horizon 5NHL 26MinecraftSILENT HILL fReady or NotEA SPORTS College Football 26SILENT HILL fReady or NotNo Mans SkyHELLDIVERS 2Assassins Creed ShadowsForza Horizon 5Hogwarts LegacyMinecraftNHL 26METAL GEAR SOLID : SNAKE EATERMafia: The Old CountrySonic Racing: CrossWorldsUFC 5No Mans SkyMETAL GEAR SOLID : SNAKE EATERGears of War: ReloadedHell is UsFINAL FANTASY TACTICS The Ivalice ChroniclesDragon Ball Z: KakarotHell is UsIt Takes Two*Naming of products may differ between regions *Upgrades not includedPS4 GamesUS/CanadaEURed Dead Redemption 2EA Sports FC 26Hollow Knight: Voidheart EditionRed Dead Redemption 2Batman: Arkham KnightHollow Knight: Voidheart EditionHollow Knight: SilksongBatman: Arkham KnightGrand Theft Auto VHollow Knight: SilksongEA Sports FC 26Grand Theft Auto VNeed for Speed HeatAssassins Creed OriginsMinecraftThe ForestMortal Kombat XA Way OutThe ForestAssassins Creed OdysseyCall of Duty: Black Ops IIIMafia: TrilogySekiro: Shadows Die Twice Game of the Year EditionNeed for Speed HeatA Way OutMinecraftMafia III: Definitive EditionKingdom Come: DeliveranceAssassins Creed OdysseyUnravel TwoAssassins Creed OriginsMortal Kombat XSTAR WARS Battlefront IISekiro: Shadows Die Twice Game of the Year EditionMafia: TrilogyHogwarts LegacyPsychonautsMafia II: Definitive EditionNBA 2K26Descenders*Naming of products may differ between regionsPS VR2 Games*US/CanadaEUAlien: Rogue Incursion VRAlien: Rogue Incursion VRCreed: Rise to Glory Championship EditionCreed: Rise to Glory Championship EditionBeat SaberHorizon Call of the MountainGORN 2Beat SaberJob SimulatorJob SimulatorVampire: The Masquerade JusticeMetro AwakeningArizona Sunshine 2Arizona Sunshine 2Among Us 3D: VRMoss: Book IIPavlovPavlovArken AgeRagnarock*PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not includedFree to Play (PS5 + PS4)US/CanadaEUDRAGON BALL GEKISHIN SQUADRADelta Force (F2P)Delta Force (F2P)RobloxFortniteskate.Marvel RivalsFortniteRobloxDRAGON BALL GEKISHIN SQUADRACall of Duty: WarzoneCall of Duty: Warzoneskate.Rocket LeagueTom Clancys Rainbow Six Siege X Free AccessTom Clancys Rainbow Six Siege X Free AccessRocket LeagueeFootballFall GuysMarvel Rivals

Lucile Hadihalilovi doesnt make horror films in a traditional sense, though her neo-noir body-horror movie Earwig may come closest. But while The Ice Tower isn't body horror, it still may be one of 2025s creepiest films. Fans of David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock should go gaga and not just because of its eerie bird attack. (Though that element doesnt hurt.)

In A Week In The Life Of An AI-Augmented Designer, Kate stumbled her way through an AI-augmented sprint (coffee was chugged, mistakes were made). In Prompting Is A Design Act, we introduced WIRE+FRAME, a framework to structure prompts like designers structure creative briefs. Now well take the next step: packaging those structured prompts into AI assistants you can design, reuse, and share.AI assistants go by different names: CustomGPTs (ChatGPT), Agents (Copilot), and Gems (Gemini). But they all serve the same function allowing you to customize the default AI model for your unique needs. If we carry over our smart intern analogy, think of these as interns trained to assist you with specific tasks, eliminating the need for repeated instructions or information, and who can support not just you, but your entire team. Why Build Your Own Assistant?If youve ever copied and pasted the same mega-prompt for the nth time, youve experienced the pain. An AI assistant turns a one-off great prompt into a dependable teammate. And if youve used any of the publicly available AI Assistants, youve realized quickly that theyre usually generic and not tailored for your use.Public AI assistants are great for inspiration, but nothing beats an assistant that solves a repeated problem for you and your team, in your voice, with your context and constraints baked in. Instead of reinventing the wheel by writing new prompts each time, or repeatedly copy-pasting your structured prompts every time, or spending cycles trying to make a public AI Assistant work the way you need it to, your own AI Assistant allows you and others to easily get better, repeatable, consistent results faster.Benefits Of Reusing Prompts, Even Your OwnSome of the benefits of building your own AI Assistant over writing or reusing your prompts include:Focused on a real repeating problemA good AI Assistant isnt a general-purpose do everything bot that you need to keep tweaking. It focuses on a single, recurring problem that takes a long time to complete manually and often results in varying quality depending on whos doing it (e.g., analyzing customer feedback). Customized for your contextMost large language models (LLMs, such as ChatGPT) are designed to be everything to everyone. An AI Assistant changes that by allowing you to customize it to automatically work like you want it to, instead of a generic AI. Consistency at scaleYou can use the WIRE+FRAME prompt framework to create structured, reusable prompts. An AI Assistant is the next logical step: instead of copy-pasting that fine-tuned prompt and sharing contextual information and examples each time, you can bake it into the assistant itself, allowing you and others achieve the same consistent results every time.Codifying expertiseEvery time you turn a great prompt into an AI Assistant, youre essentially bottling your expertise. Your assistant becomes a living design guide that outlasts projects (and even job changes).Faster ramp-up for teammatesInstead of new designers starting from a blank slate, they can use pre-tuned assistants. Think of it as knowledge transfer without the long onboarding lecture.Reasons For Your Own AI Assistant Instead Of Public AI AssistantsPublic AI assistants are like stock templates. While they serve a specific purpose compared to the generic AI platform, and are useful starting points, if you want something tailored to your needs and team, you should really build your own.A few reasons for building your AI Assistant instead of using a public assistant someone else created include: Fit: Public assistants are built for the masses. Your work has quirks, tone, and processes theyll never quite match.Trust & Security: You dont control what instructions or hidden guardrails someone else baked in. With your own assistant, you know exactly what it will (and wont) do.Evolution: An AI Assistant you design and build can grow with your team. You can update files, tweak prompts, and maintain a changelog things a public bot wont do for you.Your own AI Assistants allow you to take your successful ways of interacting with AI and make them repeatable and shareable. And while they are tailored to your and your teams way of working, remember that they are still based on generic AI models, so the usual AI disclaimers apply:Dont share anything you wouldnt want screenshotted in the next company all-hands. Keep it safe, private, and user-respecting. A shared AI Assistant can potentially reveal its inner workings or data.Note: We will be building an AI assistant using ChatGPT, aka a CustomGPT, but you can try the same process with any decent LLM sidekick. As of publication, a paid account is required to create CustomGPTs, but once created, they can be shared and used by anyone, regardless of whether they have a paid or free account. Similar limitations apply to the other platforms. Just remember that outputs can vary depending on the LLM model used, the models training, mood, and flair for creative hallucinations.When Not to Build An AI Assistant (Yet)An AI Assistant is great when the same audience has the same problem often. When the fit isnt there, the risk is high; you should skip building an AI Assistant for now, as explained below:One-off or rare tasksIf it wont be reused at least monthly, Id recommend keeping it as a saved WIRE+FRAME prompt. For example, something for a one-time audit or creating placeholder content for a specific screen. Sensitive or regulated dataIf you need to build in personally identifiable information (PII), health, finance, legal, or trade secrets, err on the side of not building an AI Assistant. Even if the AI platform promises not to use your data, Id strongly suggest using redaction or an approved enterprise tool with necessary safeguards in place (company-approved enterprise versions of Microsoft Copilot, for instance). Heavy orchestration or logicMulti-step workflows, API calls, database writes, and approvals go beyond the scope of an AI Assistant into Agentic territory (as of now). Id recommend not trying to build an AI Assistant for these cases.Real-time informationAI Assistants may not be able to access real-time data like prices, live metrics, or breaking news. If you need these, you can upload near-real-time data (as we do below) or connect with data sources that you or your company controls, rather than relying on the open web.High-stakes outputsFor cases related to compliance, legal, medical, or any other area requiring auditability, consider implementing process guardrails and training to keep humans in the loop for proper review and accountability.No measurable winIf you cant name a success metric (such as time saved, first-draft quality, or fewer re-dos), Id recommend keeping it as a saved WIRE+FRAME prompt.Just because these are signs that you should not build your AI Assistant now, doesnt mean you shouldnt ever. Revisit this decision when you notice that youre starting to repeatedly use the same prompt weekly, multiple teammates ask for it, or manual time copy-pasting and refining start exceeding ~15 minutes. Those are some signs that an AI Assistant will pay back quickly.In a nutshell, build an AI Assistant when you can name the problem, the audience, frequency, and the win. The rest of this article shows how to turn your successful WIRE+FRAME prompt into a CustomGPT that you and your team can actually use. No advanced knowledge, coding skills, or hacks needed. As Always, Start with the UserThis should go without saying to UX professionals, but its worth a reminder: if youre building an AI assistant for anyone besides yourself, start with the user and their needs before you build anything.Who will use this assistant?Whats the specific pain or task they struggle with today?What language, tone, and examples will feel natural to them?Building without doing this first is a sure way to end up with clever assistants nobody actually wants to use. Think of it like any other product: before you build features, you understand your audience. The same rule applies here, even more so, because AI assistants are only as helpful as they are useful and usable.From Prompt To AssistantYouve already done the heavy lifting with WIRE+FRAME. Now youre just turning that refined and reliable prompt into a CustomGPT you can reuse and share. You can use MATCH as a checklist to go from a great prompt to a useful AI assistant. M: Map your promptPort your successful WIRE+FRAME prompt into the AI assistant.A: Add knowledge and trainingGround the assistant in your world. Upload knowledge files, examples, or guides that make it uniquely yours.T: Tailor for audienceMake it feel natural to the people who will use it. Give it the right capabilities, but also adjust its settings, tone, examples, and conversation starters so they land with your audience.C: Check, test, and refineTest the preview with different inputs and refine until you get the results you expect.H: Hand off and maintainSet sharing options and permissions, share the link, and maintain it.A few weeks ago, we invited readers to share their ideas for AI assistants they wished they had. The top contenders were: Prototype Prodigy: Transform rough ideas into prototypes and export them into Figma to refine.Critique Coach: Review wireframes or mockups and point out accessibility and usability gaps.But the favorite was an AI assistant to turn tons of customer feedback into actionable insights. Readers replied with variations of: An assistant that can quickly sort through piles of survey responses, app reviews, or open-ended comments and turn them into themes we can act on.And thats the one we will build in this article say hello to Insight Interpreter.Walkthrough: Insight InterpreterHaving lots of customer feedback is a nice problem to have. Companies actively seek out customer feedback through surveys and studies (solicited), but also receive feedback that may not have been asked for through social media or public reviews (unsolicited). This is a goldmine of information, but it can be messy and overwhelming trying to make sense of it all, and its nobodys idea of fun. Heres where an AI assistant like the Insight Interpreter can help. Well turn the example prompt created using the WIRE+FRAME framework in Prompting Is A Design Act into a CustomGPT. When you start building a CustomGPT by visiting https://chat.openai.com/gpts/editor, youll see two paths:Conversational interfaceVibe-chat your way its easy and quick, but similar to unstructured prompts, your inputs get baked in a little messily, so you may end up with vague or inconsistent instructions.Configure interfaceThe structured form where you type instructions, upload files, and toggle capabilities. Less instant gratification, less winging it, but more control. This is the option youll want for assistants you plan to share or depend on regularly.The good news is that MATCH works for both. In conversational mode, you can use it as a mental checklist, and well walk through using it in configure mode as a more formal checklist in this article.M: Map Your PromptPaste your full WIRE+FRAME prompt into the Instructions section exactly as written. As a refresher, Ive included the mapping and snippets of the detailed prompt from before:Who & What: The AI persona and the core deliverable (senior UX researcher and customer insights analyst specialize in synthesizing qualitative data from diverse sources).Input Context: Background or data scope to frame the task (analyzing customer feedback uploaded from sources such as).Rules & Constraints: Boundaries (do not fabricate pain points, representative quotes, journey stages, or patterns).Expected Output: Format and fields of the deliverable (a structured list of themes. For each theme, include).Flow: Explicit, ordered sub-tasks (Recommended flow of tasks: Step 1).Reference Voice: Tone, mood, or reference (concise, pattern-driven, and objective).Ask for Clarification: Ask questions if unclear (if data is missing or unclear, ask before continuing). Memory: Memory to recall earlier definitions (Unless explicitly instructed otherwise, keep using this process).Evaluate & Iterate: Have the AI self-critique outputs (critically evaluatesuggest improvements).If youre building Copilot Agents or Gemini Gems instead of CustomGPTs, you still paste your WIRE+FRAME prompt into their respective Instructions sections. A: Add Knowledge And TrainingIn the knowledge section, upload up to 20 files, clearly labeled, that will help the CustomGPT respond effectively. Keep files small and versioned: reviews_Q2_2025.csv beats latestfile_final2.csv. For this prompt for analyzing customer feedback, generating themes organized by customer journey, rating them by severity and effort, files could include:Taxonomy of themes;Instructions on parsing uploaded data;Examples of real UX research reports using this structure;Scoring guidelines for severity and effort, e.g., what makes something a 3 vs. a 5 in severity;Customer journey map stages;Customer feedback file templates (not actual data).An example of a file to help it parse uploaded data is shown below: T: Tailor For AudienceAudience tailoringIf you are building this for others, your prompt should have addressed tone in the Reference Voice section. If you didnt, do it now, so the CustomGPT can be tailored to the tone and expertise level of users who will use it. In addition, use the Conversation starters section to add a few examples or common prompts for users to start using the CustomGPT, again, worded for your users. For instance, we could use Analyze feedback from the attached file for our Insights Interpreter to make it more self-explanatory for anyone, instead of Analyze data, which may be good enough if you were using it alone. For my Designerly Curiosity GPT, assuming that users may not know what it could do, I use What are the types of curiosity? and Give me a micro-practice to spark curiosity. Functional tailoringFill in the CustomGPT name, icon, description, and capabilities. Name: Pick one that will make it clear what the CustomGPT does. Lets use Insights Interpreter Customer Feedback Analyzer. If needed, you can also add a version number. This name will show up in the sidebar when people use it or pin it, so make the first part memorable and easily identifiable. Icon: Upload an image or generate one. Keep it simple so it can be easily recognized in a smaller dimension when people pin it in their sidebar.Description: A brief, yet clear description of what the CustomGPT can do. If you plan to list it in the GPT store, this will help people decide if they should pick yours over something similar. Recommended Model: If your CustomGPT needs the capabilities of a particular model (e.g., needs GPT-5 thinking for detailed analysis), select it. In most cases, you can safely leave it up to the user or select the most common model. Capabilities: Turn off anything you wont need. Well turn off Web Search to allow the CustomGPT to focus only on uploaded data, without expanding the search online, and we will turn on Code Interpreter & Data Analysis to allow it to understand and process uploaded files. Canvas allows users to work on a shared canvas with the GPT to edit writing tasks; Image generation - if the CustomGPT needs to create images. Actions: Making third-party APIs available to the CustomGPT, advanced functionality we dont need. Additional Settings: Sneakily hidden and opted in by default, I opt out of training OpenAIs models.C: Check, Test & RefineDo one last visual check to make sure youve filled in all applicable fields and the basics are in place: is the concept sharp and clear (not a do-everything bot)? Are the roles, goals, and tone clear? Do we have the right assets (docs, guides) to support it? Is the flow simple enough that others can get started easily? Once those boxes are checked, move into testing.Use the Preview panel to verify that your CustomGPT performs as well, or better, than your original WIRE+FRAME prompt, and that it works for your intended audience. Try a few representative inputs and compare the results to what you expected. If something worked before but doesnt now, check whether new instructions or knowledge files are overriding it.When things dont look right, here are quick debugging fixes:Generic answers?Tighten Input Context or update the knowledge files.Hallucinations?Revisit your Rules section. Turn off web browsing if you dont need external data.Wrong tone?Strengthen Reference Voice or swap in clearer examples.Inconsistent?Test across models in preview and set the most reliable one as Recommended.H: Hand Off And MaintainWhen your CustomGPT is ready, you can publish it via the Create option. Select the appropriate access option:Only me: Private use. Perfect if youre still experimenting or keeping it personal. Anyone with the link: Exactly what it means. Shareable but not searchable. Great for pilots with a team or small group. Just remember that links can be reshared, so treat them as semi-public. GPT Store: Fully public. Your assistant is listed and findable by anyone browsing the store. (This is the option well use.)Business workspace (if youre on GPT Business): Share with others within your business account only the easiest way to keep it in-house and controlled.But hand off doesnt end with hitting publish, you should maintain it to keep it relevant and useful: Collect feedback: Ask teammates what worked, what didnt, and what they had to fix manually.Iterate: Apply changes directly or duplicate the GPT if you want multiple versions in play. You can find all your CustomGPTs at: https://chatgpt.com/gpts/mine Track changes: Keep a simple changelog (date, version, updates) for traceability.Refresh knowledge: Update knowledge files and examples on a regular cadence so answers dont go stale.And thats it! Our Insights Interpreter is now live! Since we used the WIRE+FRAME prompt from the previous article to create the Insights Interpreter CustomGPT, I compared the outputs:The results are similar, with slight differences, and thats expected. If you compare the results carefully, the themes, issues, journey stages, frequency, severity, and estimated effort match with some differences in wording of the theme, issue summary, and problem statement. The opportunities and quotes have more visible differences. Most of it is because of the CustomGPT knowledge and training files, including instructions, examples, and guardrails, now live as always-on guidance. Keep in mind that in reality, Generative AI is by nature generative, so outputs will vary. Even with the same data, you wont get identical wording every time. In addition, underlying models and their capabilities rapidly change. If you want to keep things as consistent as possible, recommend a model (though people can change it), track versions of your data, and compare for structure, priorities, and evidence rather than exact wording.While Id love for you to use Insights Interpreter, I strongly recommend taking 15 minutes to follow the steps above and create your own. That is exactly what you or your team needs including the tone, context, output formats, and get the real AI Assistant you need!Inspiration For Other AI AssistantsWe just built the Insight Interpreter and mentioned two contenders: Critique Coach and Prototype Prodigy. Here are a few other realistic uses that can spark ideas for your own AI Assistant:Workshop Wizard: Generates workshop agendas, produces icebreaker questions, and follows up survey drafts.Research Roundup Buddy: Summarizes raw transcripts into key themes, then creates highlight reels (quotes + visuals) for team share-outs.Persona Refresher: Updates stale personas with the latest customer feedback, then rewrites them in different tones (boardroom formal vs. design-team casual).Content Checker: Proofs copy for tone, accessibility, and reading level before it ever hits your site.Trend Tamer: Scans competitor reviews and identifies emerging patterns you can act on before they reach your roadmap.Microcopy Provocateur: Tests alternate copy options by injecting different tones (sassy, calm, ironic, nurturing) and role-playing how users might react, especially useful for error states or Call to Actions.Ethical UX Debater: Challenges your design decisions and deceptive designs by simulating the voice of an ethics board or concerned user. The best AI Assistants come from carefully inspecting your workflow and looking for areas where AI can augment your work regularly and repetitively. Then follow the steps above to build a team of customized AI assistants.Ask Me Anything About AssistantsWhat are some limitations of a CustomGPT?Right now, the best parallels for AI are a very smart intern with access to a lot of information. CustomGPTs are still running on LLM models that are basically trained on a lot of information and programmed to predictively generate responses based on that data, including possible bias, misinformation, or incomplete information. Keeping that in mind, you can make that intern provide better and more relevant results by using your uploads as onboarding docs, your guardrails as a job description, and your updates as retraining.Can I copy someone elses public CustomGPT and tweak it?Not directly, but if you get inspired by another CustomGPT, you can look at how its framed and rebuild your own using WIRE+FRAME & MATCH. That way, you make it your own and have full control of the instructions, files, and updates. But you can do that with Googles equivalent Gemini Gems. Shared Gems behave similarly to shared Google Docs, so once shared, any Gem instructions and files that you have uploaded can be viewed by any user with access to the Gem. Any user with edit access to the Gem can also update and delete the Gem.How private are my uploaded files?The files you upload are stored and used to answer prompts to your CustomGPT. If your CustomGPT is not private or you didnt disable the hidden setting to allow CustomGPT conversations to improve the model, that data could be referenced. Dont upload sensitive, confidential, or personal data you wouldnt want circulating. Enterprise accounts do have some protections, so check with your company. How many files can I upload, and does size matter?Limits vary by platform, but smaller, specific files usually perform better than giant docs. Think chapter instead of entire book. At the time of publishing, CustomGPTs allow up to 20 files, Copilot Agents up to 200 (if you need anywhere near that many, chances are your agent is not focused enough), and Gemini Gems up to 10. Whats the difference between a CustomGPT and a Project?A CustomGPT is a focused assistant, like an intern trained to do one role well (like Insight Interpreter). A Project is more like a workspace where you can group multiple prompts, files, and conversations together for a broader effort. CustomGPTs are specialists. Projects are containers. If you want something reusable, shareable, and role-specific, go to CustomGPT. If you want to organize broader work with multiple tools and outputs, and shared knowledge, Projects are the better fit.From Reading To BuildingIn this AI x Design series, weve gone from messy prompting (A Week In The Life Of An AI-Augmented Designer) to a structured prompt framework, WIRE+FRAME (Prompting Is A Design Act). And now, in this article, your very own reusable AI sidekick.CustomGPTs dont replace designers but augment them. The real magic isnt in the tool itself, but in how you design and manage it. You can use public CustomGPTs for inspiration, but the ones that truly fit your workflow are the ones you design yourself. They extend your craft, codify your expertise, and give your team leverage that generic AI models cant.Build one this week. Even better, today. Train it, share it, stress-test it, and refine it into an AI assistant that can augment your team.

Every time we think weve settled on a favorite Wooj lamp, they go and drop something new to shake things up. This time, the Brooklyn-based studio has officially gone cordless, giving its sculptural, 3D-printed designs the freedom to move from bedside to backyard no outlets required. The new Cordless Collection keeps the distinctive, modern style Wooj is known for, but adds a practical twist: built-in rechargeable power that makes these lights the perfect choice for setting the mood, no matter where you take them.Mini Wavy Lamp \\\ Photo: Henya RosenKinoko Lamp \\\ Photo: Dillon MatthewThe cordless collection kicks off with portable versions of Woojs best-selling designs, each reimagined for life untethered. A newly designed base allows for USB-C charging and houses the LED unit, which offers three dimmable settings: low (~560 lumens), medium (~1900 lumens), and high (~3180 lumens). On maximum brightness, the lamps run for 15 hours, while the lowest setting clocks in at an impressive 80 hours. Impatient? You can even use the light while its charging.Camp Lantern \\\ Photo: Sean KimCamp Lantern \\\ Photo: Sean KimTo celebrate the launch, Wooj also unveiled a brand-new design: the Camp Lantern. With a paracord sling handle, its easy to tote from room to room, hang on a hook, or bring along for a camping trip. Like the rest of the cordless collection, its waterproof body is built to handle everything from wilderness adventures to backyard parties.Camp Lantern \\\ Photo: Sean KimMini Wavy Lamp \\\ Photo: Henya RosenReturning favorites include the Mini Wavy Lamp, which gets even cuter in cordless form. Like a ripple plucked straight from the sea, it glows just as easily on your nightstand as it can on your patio table.Kinoko Lamp \\\ Photo: Dillon MatthewThe Kinoko Lamp, with its mushroom cap silhouette, is playful, portable, and a little whimsical. Its sibling, the Mini Drum Lamp, is all about clean lines and quiet confidence.Mini Drum Lamp \\\ Photo: Matthew GordonMini Allium Lamps \\\ Photo: Matthew GordonAvailable in amber, smoke, and clear, the Mini Allium Lamp casts a warm glow that makes any corner feel instantly cozier. For some added drama, the Prisma Lamp strikes a pose as a sculptural tower of origami-inspired folded pleats, guaranteed to spark conversation.Prisma Lamp \\\ Photo: Grace RiveraPrisma Lamps \\\ Photo: Grace RiveraAs hosting season kicks off, Woojs new Cordless Collection makes it easier than ever to set the mood anywhere. From holiday parties to impromptu backyard hangs, these portable lamps bring their sculptural glow without the hassle of cords or outlets.Camp Lantern \\\ Photo: Sean KimCamp Lantern \\\ Photo: Sean KimMini Wavy Lamp \\\ Photo: Henya RosenMini Wavy Lamp \\\ Photo: Henya RosenMini Wavy Lamps \\\ Photo: Ben AmandesKinoko Lamp \\\ Photo: Dillon MatthewKinoko Lamp \\\ Photo: Dillon MatthewMini Drum Lamp \\\ Photo: Matthew GordonMini Allium Lamp \\\ Photo: Roshan JacobMini Allium Lamp \\\ Photo: Roshan JacobPrisma Lamp \\\ Photo: Grace RiveraPrisma Lamp \\\ Photo: Grace RiveraPrisma Lamp \\\ Photo: Grace RiveraTo light up your life with Woojs cordless lamps, visit wooj.design.Photography courtesy of Wooj.

All it takes is one creative spark to ignite afire.source: DSRUPTR.comI recently wrote about the 5 powerful business insights that prove the value ofdesign.While its incredible to see the business results on the value of design from McKinsey, Harvard, Forbes, and Adobe, I really appreciate the everyday examples to help illustrate the value ofdesign.And the creative spark it takes to move a mountainThe Story of Jacek Utko and His CreativeSparkJacek Utko is a former architect who got a job as a newspaper art director. He really thought newspapers were boring and bland, and that was easily reflected in the low circulationnobody was readingthem!source: Pew ResearchCenterHe was really frustrated. His parents and friends thought he was crazy wasting his time working at a newspaper.And the general public thought newspapers would soon become extinct because most people were reading news online. Not to mention most newspapers were outdated by the time they were printed, and environmentalist thought newspapers wasted valuable resources.source: Pew ResearchCenterBut what should he do? He knew that newspapers werent appealing to consumers, he just wasnt sure how to make them better. Or if they could even besaved.Stepping away from work, he took a trip up to London to attend a Cirque du Soleil performance with somefriends.https://medium.com/media/159d9a937486f25d82878ed2a1bfca82/hrefHe was blown away. He told his friends that they totally transformed a creepy run-down entertainment into performance art!This one performance was the creative spark that would ignite a fire inJacek.He knew right away that he should use design to transform his newspaper from boring text into performance art.Just like a Cirque du Soleil performance.Much like when Einstein was a child and received a magnetic compass as a gift, sparking his lifelong fascination with the invisible forces ofnature.source: created with MidjourneyOr Steve Jobs being inspired during a calligraphy course at Reed College, where he was captivated by the elegance and beauty of typography. This sparked his passion for design. He embraced design to create beautiful form factors and interfaces in Apples productsbecoming a unique differentiator from the bland PC computers.source: DSRUPTR.comJacek quickly returned home to Poland to focus his energy on selling leadership on his vision to radically redesign the newspaper into visually engaging and artisticpieces.The Revolution of Newspaper DesignJacek worked closely with newspaper executives to figure out the business goals of their papers, and then radically reformatted the product to fit thosegoals.Part of the transformation was Jaceks strategic rethinking the newspaper design, moving away from individual page layouts to seeing the whole newspaper as a single composition.As the art director at Warsaws Puls Biznesu in 2004, he redesigned this small business-focused newspaper and immediately won the SND award for worlds best-designed newspaper. Readers responded, and circulation wentup.source: PulsBiznesuIts clear from these covers that Jacek has completely elevated an old newspaper from static information into dynamiccontent.source: PulsBiznesuThe info graphics that Jacek and his team designed are not just interesting bits of data, but compelling stories that take their readers on ajourney.source: PulsBiznesuJacek and his team got people to notice newspapers again. And quite frankly, the designs he created made newspapers hard toignore.source: WyborczaPeople rushed to pick up these redesigned newspapers, often seeing others holding them and curious about the artistry and creativity they saw on thepages.source: DM.focusJacek sat back in his chair with a smile. He and his team had successfully transformed a newspaper into performance art. What seemed like an impossible dream was nowreality.The BusinessResultsUtkos extraordinary design work demonstrates that strategic, user-focused design significantly enhances business performance and reader engagement.The amount of awards and revenue created by Jacek and his team are inspiring:Increased Circulation by Up to 100%: Utkos redesigns for newspapers in Eastern Europe, including titles in Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia, consistently boosted circulation, with some publications seeing increases of up to 100% due to enhanced visual appeal and reader engagement.35% Circulation Growth in Poland: A Polish newspaper Utko redesigned saw a 35% circulation increase over three years, reversing nearly a decade of stagnation, by aligning design with business goals and reader preferences.Boosted Ad Revenue: His redesigns, such as for Bonniers business publications, led to increased advertising revenue, often by as much as 100%, by creating visually compelling layouts that attracted advertisers.Award-Winning Designs: Utkos redesigns won the Society of News Design (SND) Worlds Best Designed Newspaper award in 2004 and 2007 for Warsaws Puls Biznesu, enhancing brand prestige and marketability.European Newspaper of the Year Awards: Three newspapers he redesigned were recognized as European Newspaper of the Year in 2015, 2016, and 2019, driving higher readership and industry recognition.Global Impact Across 35 Countries: Utkos redesigns for dozens of newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa (e.g., Singapore, South Africa) consistently increased readership and revenue, leveraging strategic design.ConclusionBeyond the extraordinary business results from McKinsey, Harvard, Forbes, and Adobe, the world can easily see in this simple example that design has the transformative power as a spark for innovation and a driver of businessvalue.Jacek not only proved that good design can help readers reconnect with newspapers, but he also proved that good design can bring a dying industry back from the edge of extinction.https://medium.com/media/8229a39f9e4605e7d4bc15e0cd1867aa/hrefAnd he accomplished this by going beyond just aesthetics by improving the overall product and aligning content and design with a clear strategy. He collaborated with business leaders every step of theway.Jacek is now an art director for the Bonnier Business Press, overseeing papers in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, and the work he oversees consistently wins major prizes (including another SND worlds-best in 2007 for Estonias ripev), despite their small teams and limited resources.source: DSRUPTR.comThe story shows that designers have the power to change not only a product but also the entire workflow and culture of acompany.To all designers and innovatorsthis is our creative spark! We need to embrace this story and seize the moment to use design to solve the biggest challenges in our organizations. We all need to be likeJacek.If Jacek can revolutionize the newspaper industry with design, then you can utilize design to revolutionize any industry.How design radically transformed a dying industry was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.Besides measuring heart rate and other metrics like steps, pretty much every fitness tracker and smartwatch measures heart rate variability, abbreviated as HRV. This measurement is the basis for recovery scores and stress readings, and you can usually find it as a standalone measurement in the vitals section of your chosen app. So lets break down what this number actually measures, and how to interpret yours.HRV is heart rate variabilityHRV stands for heart rate variability, but that doesnt mean what you might think. HRV is not related to your heart rate changing throughout the day or during exercise. (Your heart beats faster when youre exercising hard, which is what heart rate zones measure. Totally different purpose.)Heart rate variability refers to how rhythmically your heart beats. If the time from one beat to the next is always the same (at a given heart rate), you have low HRV. But if some heartbeats come more closely together, and some are more spaced out, you have high HRV.This may be surprising, but you actually want your heart rate to show some variation. High HRV is considered to be better than low HRV. Your fitness app will say youre well recovered if your HRV was higher than usual last night, and it will say youre stressed or not recovering well if your HRV was low.That said, its of course possible to have a heart rate that is too variable. In a sense, thats what an arrhythmia is. When Im talking about HRV hereand when fitness apps report your HRVtheyre considering the teeny tiny differences from beat to beat in an otherwise normal(ish) healthy(ish) person.These differences are measured in milliseconds, and you wouldnt notice them if you didnt have a watch sampling data while you sleep. If you ever notice anything wildly strange about the rhythm of your heart, ask your doctor (or seek emergency medical help, if appropriate).What does a high HRV mean?High heart rate variability (that is, high for you) tends to mean that youre relatively relaxed and not too stressed. Fitness apps will bump up your readiness and recovery scores when your HRV measured during sleep is high.The variation in beats is thought to come from the push and pull of two different body systems, the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous systems. Its normal for your brain and body to be balancing these needs, so this is considered a good, normal functioning.What does a low HRV mean?Low HRV tends to occur when your body is working on somethingrecovering from hard exercise, fighting off a cold, experiencing lots of stress. If your HRV measured during sleep is low, youll get lower readiness or recovery scores. I find my HRV tanks when Im sick or when Ive been through a rough time either physically or mentally. (The day after a race or a weightlifting competition is always a low HRV day for me.)What is a good HRV number?Ill give you some numbers in a minute, but the most important thing to know is that HRV is most useful when you compare readings to what is normal for you. Your HRV can be higher than mine, but still low for you, or vice versa.So please dont go around asking whether an HRV of 50 is good. Is it higher than usual for you? Then its good. Is it lower than usual for you? Then maybe its indicating that your body is under stress. If your typical HRV readings range from 35 to 50 (for example), then 50 is high for you.It doesnt matter whether the average person your age has a HRV of 20 or of 100; those numbers are just fun facts about the population in general. They dont apply to you. Studies tend to show that fitter people have higher HRV, but also that HRV declines as we age. The average mans HRV is slightly higher than the average womans, but the full range of whats normal for each gender almost fully overlaps.Theres one more important caveat: when you look up HRV data, youll find that different studies and different devices each measure HRV differently. For example, this meta-analysis found the average HRV was 42, with a range of 19 to 75, when measured as rMSSD (root mean square of successive differences).Soand remember this is just for fun, here are some graphs from two wearable companies that publish their data and they both use rMSSD:Whoops breakdown of HRV data from their users finds men have an average of 40 and women 37. They have graphs breaking down how this changes with age, and showing the variation for each group.Ouras breakdown of HRV from their users finds an average of 41 across all users, and they also graph it by age and gender.As Ive found when comparing multiple devices on HRV, devices dont always report the same HRV numbers, but usually you can follow similar trends on all of them. If youre sick, theyll all report low HRV. If you have a good day, theyll all report high HRV. So pay more attention to the trend than the specifics.

Audiobook fans can get three months of Audible for $3 for a limited time ahead of the fall edition of Amazon Prime Day. Users will be charged $0.99 per month for the first three months, after which it will auto-renew at $14.95 per month.Audible features thousands of titles in its catalog, including podcasts and Audible Originals. Subscribers will also get to choose one audiobook each month to keep in their collection for free, including best-sellers or new releases. Amazon Prime members will receive two credits the first month of their trial.Amazon has been bringing Prime Day back in the fall for a few years now, and this year it returns October 7 and 8. Great deals tend to start rolling out in the days ahead of the event and this year is no exception. There are already sales on Apple devices, smart doorbells and most importantly, Lego sets.If you're a book lover but don't have the time to sit down and read a hard copy, or you just prefer listening to the latest novel while on the go, then take advantage of this sale. It's a limited-time offer and will only be available through December 16.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/you-can-get-3-months-of-audible-for-just-3-right-now-090052477.html?src=rss

Morgan Stanley reports higher demand than expected for most iPhone 17 models, but demand for the iPhone Air is weaker.