FORM Brands Studio has given London’s Air Ambulance Charity a new look. Rather than transporting patients to hospital, the charity’s doctors and paramedics treat seriously injured people at the scene from its two helicopters and eight cars. It is the only organisation performing this role in London. Established in 1989, it is called to a rising number of patients across the capital every year, helping more than 2,000 people in 2024. London’s Air Ambulance Charity (LAAC) needs £17m a year to operate, 96% which comes from donations. “But 60% of Londoners don’t know we’re a charity,” says LAAC’s director of fundraising and marketing, Jayne Clarke. FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in OOH posters Its new organisational strategy is about raising awareness, enhancing fundraising efforts and strengthening its connection with London’s communities. “We’re trying to make sure the strategy is about hope and looking forward to the future,” Clarke says. To accompany this new strategy, the charity also decided to change up its visual identity. “Our previous branding was very corporate,” Clarke admits.FORM Brands Studio won the job after a pitch. Strategy director Beth Andlaw set up the east London agency in 2022 with creative director Alex Andlaw. Before that she had been in comms and PR, and had worked with LAAC on and off for about 20 years. FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity on stage FORM introduced a new wordmark, colour palette, typeface, icons, motion, creative copy, messaging, fundraising memorabilia and photography. However, the existing helicopter icon was retained. “It has a lot of love and legacy,” says Clarke. The agency’s brand idea, Propelling Promise, was inspired by the urgent, intense nature of the work carried out by LAAC’s clinical and operational crews. That was used to give structure to creative copy lines and the new tone of voice. Each lead line includes an element of “propelling” to imply urgency and momentum, and “promise” to imply warmth and hope. That resulted in lines including “Trauma doesn’t stop. Neither do we” and “Here for London. Today, tomorrow, always.” FORM brought in Peggy Nyamekye to work on the copywriting. Meanwhile, the visual identity, developed with designer Mayan Mistry, comprises a gradient design system, drawing on the rotational motion of helicopter blades. Borough names are repeated in radiating patterns and overlaid with the gradient. Red is still central to the charity’s identity, but FORM introduced the vivid orange worn by medics on-scene. “These colours blend in the gradient, creating a visual signature that speaks to urgency, action, optimism and hope,” says Alex Andlaw. https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/06/LAA_OOH_TUBE_1920x1080.mp4 With the help of motion graphics designer Matt Fowler, the agency introduced movement to the branding, to reflect the aircraft’s blades in flight. The logo’s new wordmark is in Barlow, inspired by the existing big white lettering on the helicopter tail booms. Before, the charity’s name was written lower case in a thinner font. “Now it’s bigger, bolder and more impactful,” says Alex Andlaw. FORM also redesigned the icons to have more personality but still be functional. “The icons help the team talk about quite hard subjects,” he says, such as casualties, and the designs had to balance warmth and realism. “We did quite a few hearts, some look too detailed and some too basic,” he explains. The agency also created a series of collectible badges, inspired by the embroidered badges worn by the charity’s doctors and pilots.FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in Instagram posts Meanwhile, photographer James Pearson-Howes was briefed to capture real people, places and moments from across London. The new branding had to resonate with very different types of donors, from the charity’s collection buckets to seven-figure corporate donations, says Clarke. “And the doctors wearing the brand have very strong opinions, as do the pilots. FORM took in all these views and managed to make all those people happy.” https://d3faj0w6aqatyx.cloudfront.net/uploads/2025/06/LAA_OOH_BILLBOARD_1920x1080.mp4 FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity FORM Brands Studio identity for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in OOH posters

Two satellite heavyweights are about to form a European rival to Starlink. But they’ll face an uphill battle to compete with Elon Musk’s firm. Luxembourg-based SES’ proposed $3.1bn takeover of Intelsat is set to get the green light from EU officials, Reuters reports. A final verdict is expected by June 10.   SES first announced plans to acquire Luxembourgish-American rival Intelsat in April 2024, calling it a “transformational merger” that could reshape the satellite internet market. The merged company would have a fleet of more than 100 geostationary and 26 medium Earth orbit satellites. Intelsat would contribute 75 of those probes, which provide a range of services, including TV, radio, satellite internet, and secure communications for governments and militaries. A SES-Intelsat tie-up would create Europe’s second-largest satellite internet provider, after Franco-British firm Eutelsat. Smaller contenders include the UK’s Inmarsat and Spain’s Hisdesat.  Combined, Europe’s satellite firms could offer the continent much-sought alternatives to Musk’s Starlink or Amazon’s Project Kuiper, at a time when tech sovereignty is high on the political agenda.  European leaders are increasingly concerned about relying on Starlink. Their fears have been stoked by reports that US officials threatened to cut off the system in Ukraine if the country didn’t meet their demands on sharing its mineral wealth.   The situation raised doubts about the security implications of Ukraine — and broader Europe — relying on a single, privately owned network whose boss has direct ties to the Trump administration. Eustalstat, SES, Inmarsat, and Hisdesat reportedly entered talks with EU governments in March about providing back-up connectivity to Ukraine.  Despite the SES–Intelsat merger creating a more formidable European player, the new alliance will still face a daunting challenge against Starlink’s dominance.  Musk’s firm dwarfs its competitors in satellite numbers, with over 7,000 in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its closest rival, Eutelsat, has around 600. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Project Kuiper is planning to deploy a constellation of 3,236 satellites.   Being part of SpaceX also affords Starlink direct access to satellite manufacturing and launch capacity. In contrast, SES and Intelsat depend on third-party launch providers and currently lack a proprietary low-Earth orbit network. While Intelsat has a $250mn agreement to access Eutelsat’s LEO capacity, this reliance on external constellations puts the merged entity at a disadvantage.  Even when combined with Europe’s other players — including Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Hisdesat — the proposed merger pales in comparison. As European policymakers push for strategic autonomy in space, the SES–Intelsat merger may be a step in the right direction, but it’s still a far cry from a true Starlink rival.

AGI will be embedded into humanoid robots, which makes white-collar and blue-collar jobs a target ... More for walking/talking automation.getty In today’s column, I examine the highly worrisome qualms expressed that the advent of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is likely to usurp white-collar jobs. The stated concern is that since AGI will be on par with human intellect, any job that relies principally on intellectual pursuits such as typical white-collar work will be taken over via the use of AGI. Employers will realize that rather than dealing with human white-collar workers, they can more readily get the job done via AGI. This, in turn, has led to a rising call that people should aim toward blue-collar jobs, doing so because (presumably) those forms of employment will not be undercut via AGI. Sorry to say, that misses the bigger picture, namely that AGI when combined with humanoid robots is coming not only for white-collar jobs but also blue-collar jobs too. It is a proverbial double-whammy when it comes to the attainment of AGI. Let’s talk about it. This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI, including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here). Heading Toward AGI And ASI First, some fundamentals are required to set the stage for this weighty discussion. There is a great deal of research going on to further advance AI. The general goal is to either reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) or maybe even the outstretched possibility of achieving artificial superintelligence (ASI). AGI is AI that is considered on par with human intellect and can seemingly match our intelligence. ASI is AI that has gone beyond human intellect and would be superior in many if not all feasible ways. The idea is that ASI would be able to run circles around humans by outthinking us at every turn. For more details on the nature of conventional AI versus AGI and ASI, see my analysis at the link here. We have not yet attained AGI. In fact, it is unknown as to whether we will reach AGI, or that maybe AGI will be achievable in decades or perhaps centuries from now. The AGI attainment dates that are floating around are wildly varying and wildly unsubstantiated by any credible evidence or ironclad logic. ASI is even more beyond the pale when it comes to where we are currently with conventional AI. AGI Problem Only Half Seen Before launching into the primary matter at hand in this discussion, let’s contemplate a famous quote attributed to Charles Kettering, a legendary inventor, who said, “A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” I bring this up because those loud clamors right now about the assumption that AGI will replace white-collar workers are only seeing half of the problem. The problem as they see it is that since AGI is intellectually on par with humans, and since white-collar workers mainly use intellect in their work endeavors, AGI is going to be used in place of humans for white-collar work. I will in a moment explain why that’s only half of the problem and there is a demonstrative need to more carefully and fully articulate the nature of the problem. Will AGI Axiomatically Take White-Collar Jobs On a related facet, the belief that AGI will axiomatically replace white-collar labor makes a number of other related key assumptions. I shall briefly explore those and then come back to why the problem itself is only half-baked. The cost of using AGI for doing white-collar work will need to be presumably a better ROI choice over human workers. If not, then an employer would be wiser to stick with humans rather than employing AGI. There seems to often be an unstated belief that AGI is necessarily going to be a less costly route than employing humans. We don’t know yet what the cost of using AGI will be. It could be highly expensive. Indeed, some are worried that the world will divide into the AGI haves and AGI have-nots, partially due to the exorbitant cost that AGI might involve. If AGI is free to use, well, that would seem to be the nail in the coffin related to using human workers for the same capacity. Another angle is that AGI is relatively inexpensive in comparison to human labor. In that case, the use of AGI is likely to win over human labor usage. But if the cost of AGI is nearer to the cost of human labor (all in), or more so, then employers would rationally need to weigh the use of one versus the other. Note that when referring to the cost of human labor, there is more to that calculation than simply the dollar-hour labor rate per se. There are lots of other less apparent costs, such as the cost to manage human labor, the cost of dealing with HR-related issues, and many other factors that come into the weighty matter. Thus, an AGI versus human labor ROI will be more complex than it might seem at an initial glance. In addition, keep in mind that AGI would seemingly be readily switched on and off, and have other capacities that human labor would not equally tend to allow. The Other Half Is Coming Too Assume that by and large the advent of AGI will decimate the need for white-collar human labor. The refrain right now is that people should begin tilting toward blue-collar jobs as an alternative to white-collar jobs. This is a logical form of thinking in the sense that AGI as an intellectual mechanism would be unable to compete in jobs that involve hands-on work. A plumber needs to come to your house and do hands-on work to fix your plumbing. This is a physicality that entails arriving at your physical home, physically bringing and using tools, and physically repairing your faulty home plumbing. A truck driver likewise needs to sit in the cab of a truck and drive the vehicle. These are physically based tasks. There is no getting around the fact that these are hands-on activities. Aha, yes, those are physical tasks, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that only human hands can perform them. The gradual emergence of humanoid robots will provide an alternative to human hands. A humanoid robot is a type of robot that is built to resemble a human in form and function. You’ve undoubtedly seen those types of robots in the many online video recordings showing them walking, jumping, grasping at objects, and so on. A tremendous amount of active research and development is taking place to devise humanoid robots. They look comical right now. You watch those videos and laugh when the robot trips over a mere stick lying on the ground, something that a human would seldom trip over. You scoff when a robot tries to grasp a coffee cup and inadvertently spills most of the coffee. It all seems humorous and a silly pursuit. Keep in mind that we are all observing the development process while it is still taking place. At some point, those guffaws of the humanoid robots will lessen. Humanoid robots will be as smooth and graceful as humans. This will continue to be honed. Eventually, humanoid robots will be less prone to physical errors that humans make. In a sense, the physicality of a humanoid robot will be on par with humans, if not better, due to its mechanical properties. Do not discount the coming era of quite physically capable humanoid robots. AGI And Humanoid Robots Pair Up You might remember that in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the fictional character known as The Strawman lacked a brain. Without seeming to anthropomorphize humanoid robots, the current situation is that those robots typically use a form of AI that is below the sophistication level of modern generative AI. That’s fine for now due to the need to first ensure that the physical movements of the robots get refined. I have discussed that a said-to-be realm of Physical AI is going to be a huge breakthrough with incredible ramifications, see my analysis at the link here. The idea underlying Physical AI is that the AI of today is being uplifted by doing data training on the physical world. This also tends to include the use of World Models, consisting of broad constructions about how the physical world works, such as that we are bound to operate under conditions of gravity, and other physical laws of nature, see the link here. The bottom line here is that there will be a close pairing of robust AI with humanoid robots. Imagine what a humanoid robot can accomplish if it is paired with AGI. I’ll break the suspense and point out that AGI paired with humanoid robots means that those robots readily enter the blue-collar worker realm. Suppose your plumbing needs fixing. No worries, a humanoid robot that encompasses AGI will be sent to your home. The AGI is astute enough to carry on conversations with you, and the AGI also fully operates the robot to undertake the plumbing tasks. How did the AGI-paired humanoid robot get to your home? Easy-peasy, it drove a car or truck to get there. I’ve previously predicted that all the work on devising autonomous vehicles and self-driving cars will get shaken up once we have suitable humanoid robots devised. There won’t be a need for a vehicle to contain self-driving capabilities. A humanoid robot will simply sit in the driver’s seat and drive the vehicle. This is a much more open-ended solution than having to craft components that go into and onto a vehicle to enable self-driving. See my coverage at the link here. Timing Is Notable One of the reasons that many do not give much thought to the pairing of AGI with humanoid robots is that today’s humanoid robots seem extraordinarily rudimentary and incapable of performing physical dexterity tasks on par with human capabilities. Meanwhile, there is brazen talk that AGI is just around the corner. AGI is said to be within our grasp. Let’s give the timing considerations a bit of scrutiny. There are three primary timing angles: Option 1: AGI first, then humanoid robots. AGI is attained before humanoid robots are sufficiently devised. Option 2: Humanoid robots first, then AGI. Humanoid robots are physically fluently adept before AGI is attained. Option 3: AGI and humanoid robots arrive about at the same time. AGI is attained and at the same time, it turns out that humanoid robots are fluently adept too, mainly by coincidence and not due to any cross-mixing. A skeptic would insist that there is a fourth possibility, consisting of the possibility that we never achieve AGI and/or we fail to achieve sufficiently physically capable humanoid robots. I am going to reject that possibility. Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but it seems to me that we will eventually attain AGI, and we will eventually attain physically capable humanoid robots. I shall next respectively consider each of the three genuinely reasonable possibilities. Option 1: AGI First, Then Humanoid Robots What if we manage to attain AGI before we manage to achieve physically fluent humanoid robots? That’s just fine. We would indubitably put AGI to work as a partner with humans in figuring out how we can push along the budding humanoid robot development process. It seems nearly obvious that with AGI’s capable assistance, we would overcome any bottlenecks and soon enough arrive at top-notch physically adept humanoid robots. At that juncture, we would then toss AGI into the humanoid robots and have ourselves quite an amazing combination. Option 2: Humanoid Robots First, Then AGI Suppose that we devise very physically adept humanoid robots but have not yet arrived at AGI. Are we in a pickle? Nope. We could use conventional advanced AI inside those humanoid robots. The combination would certainly be good enough for a wide variety of tasks. The odds are that we would need to be cautious about where such robots are utilized. Nonetheless, we would have essentially walking, talking, and productive humanoid robots. If AGI never happens, oh well, we end up with pretty good humanoid robots. On the other hand, once we arrive at AGI, those humanoid robots will be stellar. It’s just a matter of time. Option 3: AGI And Humanoid Robots At The Same Time Let’s consider the potential of AGI and humanoid robots perchance being attained around the same time. Assume that this timing isn’t due to an outright cross-mixing with each other. They just so happen to advance on a similar timeline. I tend to believe that’s the most likely of the three scenarios. Here’s why. First, despite all the hubris about AGI being within earshot, perhaps in the next year or two, which is a popular pronouncement by many AI luminaries, I tend to side with recent surveys of AI developers that put the date around the year 2040 (see my coverage at the link here). Some AI luminaires sneakily play with the definition of AGI in hopes of making their predictions come true sooner, akin to moving the goalposts to easily score points. For my coverage on Sam Altman’s efforts of moving the cheese regarding AGI attainment, see the link here. Second, if you are willing to entertain the year 2040 as a potential date for achieving AGI, that’s about 15 years from now. In my estimation, the advancements being made in humanoid robots will readily progress such that by 2040 they will be very physically adept. Probably be sooner, but let’s go with the year 2040 for ease of contemplation. In my view, we will likely have humanoid robots doing well enough that they will be put into use prior to arriving at AGI. The pinnacle of robust humanoid robots and the attainment of AGI will roughly coincide with each other. Two peas in a pod.Impact Of Enormous Consequences In an upcoming column posting, I will examine the enormous consequences of having AGI paired with fully physically capable humanoid robots. As noted above, this will have a humongous impact on white-collar work and blue-collar work. There will be gargantuan economic impacts, societal impacts, cultural impacts, and so on. Some final thoughts for now. A single whammy is already being hotly debated. The debates currently tend to be preoccupied with the loss of white-collar jobs due to the attainment of AGI. A saving grace seems to be that at least blue-collar jobs are going to be around and thriving, even once AGI is attained. The world doesn’t seem overly gloomy if you can cling to the upbeat posture that blue-collar tasks remain intact. The double whammy is a lot more to take in. But the double whammy is the truth. The truth needs to be faced. If you are having doubts as a human about the future, just remember the famous words of Vince Lombardi: “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.” Humankind can handle the double whammy. Stay tuned for my upcoming coverage of what this entails.

Two satellite heavyweights are about to form a European rival to Starlink. But they’ll face an uphill battle to compete with Elon Musk’s firm. Luxembourg-based SES’ proposed $3.1bn takeover of Intelsat is set to get the green light from EU officials, Reuters reports. A final verdict is expected by June 10.   SES first announced plans to acquire Luxembourgish-American rival Intelsat in April 2024, calling it a “transformational merger” that could reshape the satellite internet market. The merged company would have a fleet of more than 100 geostationary and 26 medium Earth orbit satellites. Intelsat would contribute 75 of those probes, which provide a range of services, including TV, radio, satellite internet, and secure communications for governments and militaries. A SES-Intelsat tie-up would create Europe’s second-largest satellite internet provider, after Franco-British firm Eutelsat. Smaller contenders include the UK’s Inmarsat and Spain’s Hisdesat.  Combined, Europe’s satellite firms could offer the continent much-sought alternatives to Musk’s Starlink or Amazon’s Project Kuiper, at a time when tech sovereignty is high on the political agenda.  European leaders are increasingly concerned about relying on Starlink. Their fears have been stoked by reports that US officials threatened to cut off the system in Ukraine if the country didn’t meet their demands on sharing its mineral wealth.   The situation raised doubts about the security implications of Ukraine — and broader Europe — relying on a single, privately owned network whose boss has direct ties to the Trump administration. Eustalstat, SES, Inmarsat, and Hisdesat reportedly entered talks with EU governments in March about providing back-up connectivity to Ukraine.  Despite the SES–Intelsat merger creating a more formidable European player, the new alliance will still face a daunting challenge against Starlink’s dominance.  Musk’s firm dwarfs its competitors in satellite numbers, with over 7,000 in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Its closest rival, Eutelsat, has around 600. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Project Kuiper is planning to deploy a constellation of 3,236 satellites.   Being part of SpaceX also affords Starlink direct access to satellite manufacturing and launch capacity. In contrast, SES and Intelsat depend on third-party launch providers and currently lack a proprietary low-Earth orbit network. While Intelsat has a $250mn agreement to access Eutelsat’s LEO capacity, this reliance on external constellations puts the merged entity at a disadvantage.  Even when combined with Europe’s other players — including Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Hisdesat — the proposed merger pales in comparison. As European policymakers push for strategic autonomy in space, the SES–Intelsat merger may be a step in the right direction, but it’s still a far cry from a true Starlink rival.

The Woven Apartment, designed by Khang Concept, is where the curves do the talking. The architectural forms create a statement of their own, letting understated design have its moment! The color palette is dominated by calming neutrals. Simultaneously, organic textures come together to add coziness. Whether it’s the arched details, woven finishes, or the muted palette, this home proves that minimalism doesn’t have to feel cold… it can feel like a hug. In the living room, a sculptural cream-toned sofa curves gently along the wall. This is grounded by a layered rug and organic coffee table. Floor-to-ceiling sheer curtains filter in natural light. The built-in bench seating and abstract wall art add character without clutter. The kitchen in the Woven Apartment is clean-lined and calming. It is a blend of matte cabinetry, wood textures, and soft under-cabinet lighting. The palette sticks to soothing tones, while the oversized hood and sleek open shelving bring drama. Tucked into a cozy nook, the dining area is all about organic flow. A custom-built banquette curves around a round black pedestal table, paired with a mix of rattan and sculptural chairs. A pendant lamp with natural textures floats above. This corner invites long, lingering meals and easy conversations. This bedroom is simple yet sophisticated. A soft upholstered bed adds functionality, while the wooden cabinetry provides storage space. A nightstand holds a globe lamp and a plant, adding to the decor of the otherwise minimalist room. The bedroom is a tranquil retreat. Custom wardrobes with woven panels frame a niche styled with ambient lighting. To the side, a sculptural desk with a chunky black leg and floating vanity shelves makes the space multifunctional. Natural light filters through full-length curtains, brushing softly against neutral bedding and organic textures. Playful yet polished, this bedroom features a soft, rainbow-arched headboard that adds charm. The mint green desk and sculptural shelves introduce a fun pop of color. With built-in wardrobes and a cozy workspace, it’s perfect for comfort as well as creativity. This bathroom continues the use of curves, as seen in the mirror. A terracotta-hued shower cubicle is segregated with a glass partition, keeping the space airy. The second bathroom uses the same terracotta color, but this time for the area around the vanity. This time, a curved partition separates the shower area. Matte black fixtures add visual interest.

The anime summer season is close — and there will be lots of big names for us to look forward to. In such a packed season, Gachiakuta is one of the most anticipated and Crunchyroll just dropped a new trailer for the show which is airing next month July 6, 2025, alongside some details on the voice actors we are going to see giving life to important characters. The show is an adaptation of the manga written by Kei Urana and it has been published by Kodansha in their Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2022. Gachiakuta is Urana’s first series after her two one-shots – Nokase (2018) and Shikido (2019) – and this year the show is receiving the anime treatment by the hands of studio Bones Films, the one responsible for Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia ILLEGALS. In this new trailer, we learn more about the world of Gachiakuta, which we have only seen some flashes of in the announcement trailer. This second trailer gives us an idea of why Rudo, the show’s protagonist, ends up in the Pit. Other key concepts of the manga are introduced as well, such as Gachiakuta’s power system that works around people called Givers who draw out power from objects they give life. While the trailer brings the energy you expect to see in a show like Gachiakuta – a few intense action scenes with the show’s opening song “HUGs” by Japanese band Paledusk –, it doesn’t fail to make it clear that Gachiakuta has a central social commentary on how society segregates people, throwing them away like garbage. Alongside the trailer, Crunchyroll also shared with us the names of two voice actors that will be in the Gachiakuta. Regot, the man who raises Rudo in the show, is voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa, present in other important recent shows such as Ranma ½. Morikawa was also the Japanese voice of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth. Yuki Shin is the other name and he is coming to Gachiakuta to voice Jabber. The artist has voiced secondary characters in shows like Attack on Titan, Given, and My Hero Academia.

06/03 — 2025 by abduzeedo Explore the impactful branding and visual identity for Culture & Community Power Fund by Outside. See how design elevates community action. Hey creatives! Let's dive into some truly inspiring work today. Our friends at Outside, a global design and tech studio based in Kathmandu, recently rolled out a fresh brand and website for the Culture & Community Power Fund (C&CPF). This project isn't just about aesthetics; it's about design with a deeper purpose. Crafting a Visual Voice for Community Power C&CPF champions grassroots organizations. They focus on communities most affected by systemic oppression. Their mission involves direct funding, sharing resources, and building networks. Outside's goal was clear: uplift grantee work, create a wisdom hub, and clarify culture's role in social action . Elizabeth Lepro, Editorial Lead at Outside, shared that the project expanded their understanding of "culture." They aimed to visually inject the celebratory and communal aspects of shared spaces, rituals, stories, and traditions throughout the brand . This passion shines through in the final output. The Ampersand: A Symbol of Collaboration One standout element in C&CPF's new branding and visual identity is the ampersand (&). Outside emphasized this symbol in the logo, a direct nod to C&CPF's collaborative ethos. What's really clever is how they rendered the ampersand in various fonts. Each typeface reflects the diverse visions of C&CPF's partner-grantees. For instance, the rounded Akaya Kanadaka typeface conveys the joyful spirit of culturally infused community power building. Pilowlava, another typeface, speaks to a grantee-partner's work in urban farming and sustainability . It's a subtle yet powerful way to represent unity in diversity. Gritty, Bold, and Inviting Visuals Established in 2022, C&CPF is relatively new. They wanted to avoid looking overly traditional. Outside delivered a gritty, bold aesthetic, drawing inspiration from protest signs and zines. Snappy animations complement this vibe. They even provided image frames to unify varying aesthetics from featured organizations. The chosen color palette is a rich blend of orange, purple, yellow, black, and white. This combination expresses warmth and invitation, perfectly aligning with the Fund's focus on people and communities. The brand incorporates vibrant photography, showcasing scenes like festivals, local games, and urban farms. Bridging the Knowledge Gap Beyond the visual, Outside also provided copywriting and narrative support. They made sure the site explains "community power building" in accessible language. The "What is Community Power Building?" page breaks down basics, relevant vocabulary, and context. It clarifies that culture extends beyond art and music, encompassing traditions, stories, rituals, and shared spaces. A key feature is the "Knowledge Commons," a custom-built resource library. It serves both experienced practitioners and newcomers, fostering shared wisdom. This hub even accepts submissions, allowing C&CPF team members to edit and publish them. This project by Outside is a fantastic example of how thoughtful branding and visual identity can empower a mission. It shows that design isn't just about looking good; it's about building understanding, fostering connection, and driving meaningful change. What aspects of this purposeful design resonate most with you? Explore more of Outside's work and the Culture & Community Power Fund's initiatives to see how design can truly make an impact. Learn more about Outside's work Branding and visual identity artifacts Tags branding

An artist's illustration of an unlucky massive star approaching a supermassive black hole. Credit: University of Hawai'i Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. At any given time across the universe, massive cosmic bodies are releasing incomprehensible amounts of energy. Stars burn like celestial nuclear fusion reactors, quasars emit thousands of times the luminosity of the Milky Way galaxy, and asteroids slam into planets. But all of these pale in comparison to a new class of events discovered by researchers at the University of Hawai’i’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA). According to their findings published June 4 in the journal Science Advances, it’s time to classify the universe’s most energetic explosions as extreme nuclear transients–or ENTs. ENTs are as devastating as they are rare. They only occur when a massive star at least three times heavier than the sun drifts too close to a supermassive black hole. The colliding forces subsequently obliterate the star, sending out plumes of energy across huge swaths of space. Similar events known as tidal disruption events (TDEs) are known to occur on a (comparatively) smaller scale, and have been documented for over a decade. But ENTs are something else entirely. “ENTs are different beasts,” study lead author and astronomer Jason Hinkle explained in an accompanying statement. “Not only are ENTs far brighter than normal tidal disruption events, but they remain luminous for years, far surpassing the energy output of even the brightest known supernova explosions.” Hinkle was first tipped off to ENTs while looking into transients—longlasting flares that spew energy from a galaxy’s center. Two particularly strange examples captured by the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission caught his eye. The pair of events brightened over a much longer timeframe than previously documented transients, but lacked some of their usual characteristics. “Gaia doesn’t tell you what a transient is, just that something changed in brightness,” Hinkle said. “But when I saw these smooth, long-lived flares from the centers of distant galaxies, I knew we were looking at something unusual.” Hinkle soon reached out to observatory teams around the world for what would become a multiyear project to understand these anomalies. In the process, a third suspect was detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego. After months of analysis, Hinkle and collaborators realized they were witnessing something unprecedented. An infrared echo tells us that a dusty torus surrounds the central black hole and newly-formed accretion disk. Credit: University of Hawai’i The ENTs analyzed by astronomers displayed smoother, longer lasting flares that pointed towards something very particular—a supermassive black hole accreting a giant, wayward star. This contrasts with a more standard black hole that typically acquires its material and energy unpredictably, resulting in irregular brightness fluctuations. The energy and luminosity of an ENT boggles the mind. The most powerful ENT documented in Hinkle’s study, Gaia18cdj, generated 25 times more energy than the most powerful known supernovae. For reference, a standard supernova puts out as much energy in a single year as the sun does across its entire 10 billion year lifespan. Gaia18cdj, meanwhile, manages to give off 100 suns’ worth of energy over just 12 months. The implications of ENTs and their massive energy surges go far beyond their impressive energy outputs. Astronomers believe they contribute to some of the most pivotal events in the cosmos. “These ENTs don’t just mark the dramatic end of a massive star’s life. They illuminate the processes responsible for growing the largest black holes in the universe,” said Hinkle. From here on Earth, ENTs can also help researchers as they continue studying massive, distant black holes. “Because they’re so bright, we can see them across vast cosmic distances—and in astronomy, looking far away means looking back in time,” explained study co-author and astronomer Benjamin Shappee. “By observing these prolonged flares, we gain insights into black hole growth when the universe was half its current age… forming stars and feeding their supermassive black holes 10 times more vigorously than they do today.” There’s a catch for astronomers, however. While supernovae are relatively well-documented, ENTs are estimated to occur at least 10 million times less often. This means that further study requires consistent monitoring of the cosmos backed by the support of international governments, astronomical associations, and the public.

Bacteria wouldn’t be so bad if we could tell them what to do. “Stop spreading! Stop sticking together! Stop fending off our antibiotics!” A new method is starting to allow scientists to do just that, letting them use light to control certain functions of bacteria. Introduced in a paper published in The European Physical Journal Plus, the preliminary approach could have several potential applications, including a possible avenue for combating antibiotic resistance.The Problem of Antibacterial Resistance Bacteria are behind a variety of diseases, from strep to staph to pneumonia and meningitis, and they attack our bodies in a variety of ways, as well, including through the production of toxins that damage and disrupt our cells. Some of these infections stop on their own, but others are too stubborn, or too serious, to leave untreated. These are the infections that we target with antibiotics — that is, as long as our antibiotics are working.But, because bacteria are constantly changing, they can develop defenses against the antibiotics that we use to stave them off, making these treatments much less effective. That’s the gist of the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistance, which has contributed to millions of deaths since 1990 and is anticipated to contribute to millions more by 2050. Setting out to find a new solution to this growing problem, scientists from the Italian Institute of Technology and the Polytechnic University of Milan embarked on the Engineering of Bacteria to See Light (EOS) project. The project aims to use light to control bacteria, primarily for the fight against antibiotic resistance. And the new method pushes the project closer to achieving that aim. Using light and light-sensitive molecules to adjust the electrical signals that are transmitted across the bacterial membrane, the method impacts the biological activity of bacteria without any alterations to their genetic makeup.“This interplay between light and electrical [signaling] allows us to control key biological processes such as movement, biofilm formation, and antibiotic sensitivity,” said Giuseppe Maria Paternò, a study author and a professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, according to a press release. “We can influence antibiotic uptake and restore or even enhance the effectiveness of treatments against resistant strains.”Coating Bacteria to Curb Antibiotic ResistanceTo control bacteria, the method takes advantage of a light-sensitive molecule called Ziapin2, which sticks to the bacterial surface. By covering bacteria with this light-sensitive molecule and by subjecting the covered bacteria to light, the scientists were able to modify the electrical signals that were transmitted across their bacterial membranes, transforming the bacteria’s basic functioning. Testing their method on one of the most studied bacterial species, the scientists changed the electrical signaling across the membranes of Bacillus subtilis, a popular model organism that’s often used as a stand-in for Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium that causes staphylococcus, or staph, infections.When tested, the method modulated the bacteria’s susceptibility to Kanamycin, an intracellular antibiotic that’s frequently used as a treatment for severe bacterial infections after other treatments fail. “Under blue light,” Paternò said in the release, “the effectiveness of Kanamycin was significantly reduced,” indicating that the electrical signaling on the bacterial membrane “plays a crucial role in the drug’s uptake.”Additional research is required to tailor the method to increase the effectiveness of Kanamycin and other antibiotics against bacteria. But for now, it seems that such an outcome could be possible. “This initial assessment […] represents a first step in a completely new field of study,” the scientists state in their paper. “This proof-of-concept study underscores the potential of non-genetic, light-based interventions to modulate bacterial susceptibility in real time. Future work will expand this approach […] ultimately advancing our understanding of bacterial bioelectric regulation and its applications in antimicrobial therapies.”This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:The European Physical Journal Plus. Photocontrol of Bacterial Membrane Potential Regulates Antibiotic Persistence in B. SubtilisSam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.