The relationship between strategists and designers is key to creating effective work that meets clients’ needs. But strategists can feel misunderstood, and even undervalued, in their attempts to set a project’s direction through clear and meaningful thinking. We spoke with a range of in-house and independent strategists about what they wish designers knew about their work. Is the role of strategists changing, like so many design industry roles right now? If so, how? “The lightning speed turnaround” of creative work is creating new pressures, says Gardiner Richardson’s associate director and strategic lead, Matt Forster. Partly this is down to the rise of AI, which is front-of-mind according to independent strategist Manfred Abraham, who has held senior roles at Interbrand and Wolff Olins. The two big shifts, he says, are AI’s potential to bring efficiency to the process – using information gathering and analytics to inform insights – and the dramatic changes that AI will bring to the consumer landscape. “Imagine a world where your personal AI agent makes your life much easier,” he says. “What are consumers going to do with their extra time? Strategists will have to work in close collaboration with creatives to be able to imagine the future for our clients.” Beyond AI, consumers’ withering attention spans, coupled with the proliferating demands on their time, creates a big challenge. “Brands are looking for strategists to show them high interest areas of culture where they have a credible role to play, making it easier for them to reach their audience,” says Matt Boffey, chief strategy officer, UK & Europe, at Design Bridge and Partners. As the world becomes more complex, there is a renewed appetite for clarity, says Polly Clark, a strategy consultant for agencies like Buddy Creative in Cornwall. “I’m seeing that simplicity is even more important than ever,” she says. “Overly complex or convoluted thinking isn’t helpful for anyone, and just slows everything down.” And some strategists have noticed a bit of mission creep. “Increasingly, clients are expecting strategists to contribute at a broader business level not purely brand strategy, design or comms,” says Louise Kennedy, who recently joined Into The Light as head of strategy. What don’t designers understand about your role? “Strategy is not a threat or a limit to designers’ creativity,” says Gardiner Richardson’s Matt Forster. “It’s a springboard to a controlled creative leap.” Into the Light’s Louise Kennedy points out that “designers, on the whole, are visual and often want to get to the ‘creative ask’ very quickly so they can start doing what they do best. “But many of us strategists enjoy taking people on the journey of how we got there by unpacking context and patterns. What designers might see as wordy, we see as fascinating storytelling, but perhaps we tell them more than they need to know, to protect our own egos.” There seems to be a recurring tension between the idea of strategists as left brain thinkers – rigorous, analytical, and logical – against designers as right-brain thinkers – more creative and emotional. But Manfred Abraham points out this is a false – if persistent – way of looking at strategy. “Some designers have missed that there might be a strong right brain there as well!” he says. What don’t clients understand about your role? “Unless clients have experienced it before, they aren’t immediately going to understand the value of strategy,” Gardiner Richardson’s Matt Forster says. “They may have worked with agencies who underpin their creative approaches on little substance. “Once we’ve explained our strategic process, why we follow it and the value it will create for all their creative communications and wider business, it’s a no brainer.” Nor does every client understand the commercial power of great design. “In the brand consulting and growth space specifically, clients often think that strategy is communication strategy,” says Manfred Abraham. “The strategies we develop go much further than that – communications is a part of it.” And adding all this value takes time – more than some clients realise. “I think for clients, it is understanding the need to protect the time and space to do a proper job at this stage and the benefit that will bring,” says Into The Light’s Louise Kennedy. “We might even need to commission new insight work if we feel there are big gaps in knowledge,” she adds. How do you balance multiple client meetings with getting the deep thinking done? This, most strategists agree, is a precarious juggling act. “It sometimes feels like ‘manager time’ has won out over ‘maker time,’” says Design Bridge and Partners’ Matt Boffey. “Days are apportioned into slots, from 30 minutes to an hour, which is perfect for meetings but inadequate for building momentum on substantial projects. The goal, he insists, isn’t to eliminate meetings. “Collaboration remains essential. Rather, it’s to create conditions where both discussion and deep work can thrive. We must be careful that ‘talking’ doesn’t completely squeeze out ‘doing’.” He encourages his team to block time between meetings to mentally stretch, as you might after a gym session. “And I’m a strong advocate for reserving longer periods, either half days or full days, for the ‘deep work’ required when writing a discovery debrief or developing brand strategy.” Although Louise Kennedy blocks out time in this way, she finds it doesn’t always work for her. “Often in those moments I can get brainfreeze as I feel under pressure to produce something smart,” she says. “So I like to read everything on a project then leave it for at least a day so my brain can digest it fully and start working behind the scenes.” External consultants can work the schedule that suits them. On most days, Manfred Abraham gets up at 5.30am because that’s when his brain is at its best. It’s also a time of day free of client meetings, “so it’s great thinking time,” he says. Polly Clark, on the other hand, embraces this juggling act. “It’s always something I’ve needed to do, and actually helps sharpen my thinking. Switching focus means I can come back to things fresher, and stops me getting caught up in the weeds.” What’s the worst thing a designer can say to a strategist? Matt Forster – “That they still don’t get it – which means I haven’t involved them enough, explained it well enough or done a good enough job.” Louise Kennedy – “’I’m confused’ or worse, ‘I’m confused and bored’.” Matt Boffey – ‘“Great, the client’s bought the strategy, now we can really start the work.” “This sounds like strategy has become a hurdle to clear before creativity begins, where it should be the foundation that makes creativity powerful and purposeful. The best work happens when strategists and designers see their contributions as interconnected parts of a unified process, rather than unrelated elements.” Polly Clark – “In the past I’ve heard designers question what strategy brings. That’s been when the strategy hasn’t made sense of the challenge, or is overly convoluted – which is sure to make everyone switch off.” Manfred Abraham – “That great design doesn’t need strategic thinking. It’s simply not true. We are great individually but we are brilliant together.”

Facing huge fines, Apple on Monday began a legal challenge to the European Commission’s “unreasonable” demand that it open up its platforms to rivals, arguing any such move threatens the foundations of its platforms with a costly process that also undercuts its ability to serve customers. The company is, in a word, furious. It argued that it has cooperated with the Commission’s demands under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and points to the investments it has already made in complying with that act. What Apple said “At Apple, we design our technology to work seamlessly together, so it can deliver the unique experience our users love and expect from our products,” the company said in a statement. “The EU’s interoperability requirements threaten that foundation, while creating a process that is unreasonable, costly, and stifles innovation. These requirements will also hand data-hungry companies’ sensitive information, which poses massive privacy and security risks to our EU users.” The company also noted that there is a real risk that people’s most sensitive information could be accessed, partially because it becomes so much harder to defend. These attempts are already taking place, Apple said. “Companies have already requested our users’ most sensitive data — from the content of their notifications to a full history of every stored Wi-Fi network on their device — giving them the ability to access personal information that even Apple doesn’t see. In the end, these deeply flawed rules that only target Apple — and no other company will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe, leading to an inferior user experience for our European customers. We are appealing these decisions on their behalf, and in order to preserve the high-quality experience our European customers expect.” A one-sided approach What seems to really upset Apple is that some aspects of the demands mean the company will effectively be forced to hand its innovations out to businesses with which it is in direct competition — at no charge. That means Apple does not get to draw the full benefits of its work and makes it far more difficult to introduce products in Europe. What makes matters worse is that while Apple is being forced to open up in ways that advantage competitors, quite literally at its expense, it is not being given the opportunity to do the same back. Apple is the only company that these demands have been made of, meaning it is being forced to give its intellectual property away to others who do not need to play by the same rules. Some data hungry companies are already attempting to exploit the DMA to gain unfettered access to sensitive customer data. All the while, Apple is left alone and isolated in its quest to ensure user privacy consistent with GDPR regulation. It’s attempts to protect privacy are about protecting customers. Compliance? We are compliant While critics will continue to sneer and jeer at the company in their quest to rid the world of the “Apple Tax” only the world’s largest developers actually pay, Apple would argue that it has been making serious efforts to comply with the DMA. The company has opened up a portal developers can use to request additional interoperability with hardware and software features inside iPhones and iPads. Apple consistently opens up API access to iPhone, including opening up SMS messaging to RCS, HomeKit features and messaging services support. It has also put in place numerous other enhancements in response to the DMA, and while the warning messages it places when using third-party stores may be stark, this makes them no less true. Europe seems to want customers to use third-party stores with no warning at all that this is what is going on, which seems weird. Malicious regulatory compliance There is a degree to which much of the situation seems to reflect political, rather than economic or moral pressures. The fact that Europe is using Apple as a high profile example, while also refusing to be totally transparent about what it wants before levying any fines, suggests that the Commission is not so much deciding on facts as implementing a political decision using a set of laws that seem designed almost solely to punish one company. That’s the kind of malicious regulatory compliance Apple is furious about — a compliance regime that will now be tested in the courts. Will it make a difference?  Who knows? But the existential battle will decide the future of technology in Europe, and if the market is worth doing business in when compared to the cost of doing so. It will also determine the future of Apple, which will use its considerable resources to find some way to change the nature of the game. One group it seems unlikely to help will be those of Apple’s European customers who are happy and accustomed to the Apple ecosystem, and don’t particularly want to use third-party services, as Apple’s right to offer that “pure Apple” experience seems a likely sacrifice to Europe’s politically-driven zeal. That is, unless cooler heads do curtail the Commission’s attacks. You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, and Mastodon.

Polish game developer People Can Fly has confirmed the cancelation of two projects and announced plans to substantially scale down its teams. The Warsaw-based studio cited communication breakdowns with publishers and financial pressures as the cause of the decision, marking People Can Fly's second round of layoffs in just under six months.

Let’s get this out of the way: We constantly live in uncertain times. Periods of tranquility are actually an aberration, if not an illusion. The relationship between marketing budgets and economic volatility has always been complex. What we’re witnessing isn’t just the usual ebb and flow of consumer confidence or standard market corrections. It’s an unprecedented convergence of tariff confusion, inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, and debt refinancing challenges. As I talk to CMOs and marketing leaders across industries, one word keeps surfacing: paralysis. Decision makers find themselves frozen, unsure whether to commit to long-term advertising contracts, unable to accurately forecast costs, and struggling to craft messaging that resonates in a consumer landscape where spending power is increasingly unpredictable. The historical perspective: Who thrives in downturns? When I look back at previous economic contractions—particularly 2008 and 2020—a clear pattern emerges that separates survivors from thrivers. In 2008, as financial markets collapsed, brands like Amazon, Netflix, and Hyundai didn’t retreat. They advanced. Netflix invested heavily in its streaming service during the financial crisis, laying the groundwork for its eventual dominance. Hyundai introduced its ground-breaking “Assurance Program,” allowing customers to return newly purchased vehicles if they lost their jobs—a true masterstroke that increased Hyundai’s market share while competitors were seeing double-digit sales declines. The 2020 pandemic presented similar divergent paths. While many brands slashed marketing budgets in panic, companies like Zoom and DoorDash significantly increased their marketing investments, recognizing the unique moment to capture market share when consumers were rapidly forming new habits. The common thread? These companies didn’t view marketing as a discretionary expense to be cut during uncertainty. They saw it as a strategic lever, one that should be pulled harder during hard times. 4 strategic approaches for the uncertainty-conscious marketer Here’s what the most forward-thinking marketers are doing now to navigate the choppy waters ahead: They’re embracing flexibility in all media contracts. The days of rigid, long-term commitments are giving way to more agile arrangements that allow for budget reallocation as economic conditions shift. This means negotiating pause clauses, shorter commitment windows, and performance-based terms that protect all contracted parties. Budgets are shifting toward measurable, adaptable channels. While social media and traditional media face the deepest anticipated cuts (41% and 43% respectively), digital advertising continues to gain market share despite economic concerns. Digital is projected to encompass up to 79% of total ad spend by 2030, up from its current 67%. Message content is being entirely rethought. In the face of economic anxiety, brands need messaging that acknowledges reality while providing genuine value. We’re seeing this play out in automotive advertising, where some manufacturers are emphasizing their American manufacturing credentials. Ford’s “From America, For America” campaign represents a strategic positioning that resonates in an era of tariff concerns. As Hyundai, in 2008, these advertisers are using the moment to emphasize their particular brand’s appeal. AI is being leveraged not just for cost cutting but for scenario planning. The most sophisticated marketing teams are using AI to model multiple economic outcomes and prepare messaging, budget allocations, and channel strategies for each scenario. The creative reset: How agencies have already adapted It’s worth noting that the industry isn’t starting from scratch in facing these challenges. Client behavior on creative development has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past several years. The best independent agencies have already restructured their operations in response. Gone are the days of lengthy creative development cycles and rigid campaign frameworks. Anticipating these changes years ago, independent shops have largely embraced agile methodologies that align perfectly with today’s economic realities. In many ways, the independent agency sector has already prepared for exactly this kind of destabilizing environment. They’ve built their businesses around speed and adaptability rather than scale and standardization. As such, they’re uniquely positioned to help steer brands through bumps ahead without sacrificing creative impact or market presence. Brand versus performance in uncertain times Perhaps the most critical strategic question facing marketers is how to balance brand building against performance marketing when budgets contract. Historical data consistently shows that brands maintaining or increasing their share of voice during downturns emerge in stronger positions when markets recover. Yet short-term revenue pressures make performance marketing irresistibly tempting when every dollar must be justified. The smart play here isn’t choosing one over the other but reimagining how all of these factors work together. Performance marketing can be designed to build brand equity simultaneously. Brand marketing can incorporate more direct response elements. The artificial wall between these disciplines must come down to survive economic headwinds. Opportunity within adversity The brands that will emerge strongest from this period of uncertainty won’t be those with the largest budgets, but those with the clearest strategic vision, the most agile execution, and the courage to maintain presence when competitors retreat. Economic uncertainty doesn’t change the fundamental truth that share of voice leads to share of market. It simply raises the stakes and rewards those who can maintain their voice when others fall silent. Looking at the latter half of 2025, the marketing leaders who view this period not as a time to hide but as a rare opportunity to stand out will be the ones writing the success stories we’ll be studying for years to come. Tim Ringel is global CEO of Meet The People.

Other nations can learn much from Canada when it comes to artificial intelligence advances. For one thing, “the focus and nurturing of AI needs ongoing attention and investments; otherwise, that leadership in AI can be lost,” an industry analyst said Wednesday. Bill Wong, research fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, was responding to the recent appointment of MP Evan Solomon, a former journalist, as Canada’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Carney. In the past, he said, “Canada has been viewed as an AI leader around the world with respect to AI research, especially with thought leaders like Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Richard Sutton.” However, he noted, “despite the recognition, critics would cite that [it] has fallen behind and challenged when it comes to monetizing  AI investments. As part of the government’s election platform, the government promised to move fast on building data centers, introduce a tax credit to incentivize AI adoption by small and medium-sized businesses, and push to expand programs at Canada’s artificial intelligence institutes to drive AI commercialization.” In a commentary on the appointment, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a policy think tank based in Ottawa, Ontario, stated that it “signals a consolidation of federal focus on a field that has historically been spread across numerous portfolios … Solomon’s challenge will be to distinguish between productivity enhancing AI and ‘so-so’ automation — harnessing the benefits of AI, while ensuring adequate regulation to mitigate associated risks.” AI is a ‘geopolitical force’ Canada, the organization stated, “must close the gap between AI innovation and adoption by pursuing policies that encourage productivity-boosting AI — applications that augment workers and make them more efficient, rather than simply replace them. The answer is a multi-level policy framework that accelerates the uptake of AI in ways that enhance output, job quality, and workforce participation.” Wong noted, “Canada was the first country to deliver its national AI strategy; the appointment of the country’s first AI minister can be viewed as a natural evolution of Canada’s adoption of AI at a national level.” The appointment of Solomon, he said, “demonstrates just how important AI is to the future of Canada and its people. While AI is considered a technology disruptor, its impact is far-reaching, and it will impact every industry and the national economy.” And while having a government ministry of AI is not the norm for most countries today, he said, “the importance of this role to the country’s economy and national security is growing. Internationally, AI has become a geopolitical force; an example of this would be the US imposing export controls on high-end AI chip technology to China.” The upcoming  G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, from June 15 to 17,  said Wong, “provides an opportunity for Canada to demonstrate its AI leadership on an international stage. While it’s a short runway to that event, Canada should promote its best practices for deploying AI in the public sector, its plans to democratize the benefits of AI to its people, and demonstrate its thought leadership by sharing research and data.” The Carney government, he said, also has a “mandate to improve its use of AI to improve productivity as well as increase the adoption of AI by private industry. A recent Deloitte study cited that only 26% of Canadian organizations have implemented AI, compared with 34% globally.” AI compute fabric in the works In the private sector, Bell Canada on Wednesday announced Bell AI Fabric, an investment, it said, “that will create the country’s largest AI compute project.” The telco plans to create a national network that will start with a “data center supercluster in British Columbia that will aim to provide upwards of 500 MW of hydro-electric powered AI compute capacity across six facilities.” The first facility, a release stated, will come online this month in partnership with AI chip provider Groq, with additional facilities being operational by the end of 2026, including two at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, BC. Bell said that the data centers at TRU “will be designed to host AI training and inference, providing students and faculty with access to cutting-edge compute capabilities, both at TRU and nationally through integration with the BCNET network. The data centre is also being integrated into the district energy system, with waste heat being repurposed to provide energy to TRU’s buildings.” Further reading: AI and economic pressures reshape tech jobs amid layoffs Microsoft cements its AI lead with one hosting service to rule them all Real-world use cases for agentic AI AI vs. copyright How to train an AI-enabled workforce — and why you need to > >

Tech layoffs have continued in 2025. Much of that is being blamed on a combination of a slower economy and the adoption of automation via artificial intelligence. Nearly four in 10 Americans, for instance, believe generative AI (genAI) could diminish the number of available jobs as it advances, according to a study released in October by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. And the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Initiative study found that close to half (44%) of worker skills will be disrupted in the next five years — and 40% of tasks will be affected by the use of genAI tools and the large language models (LLMs) that underpin them. In April, the US tech industry lost 214,000 positions as companies shifted toward AI roles and skills-based hiring amid economic uncertainty. Tech sector companies reduced staffing by a net 7,000 positions in April, an analysis of data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed. This year, 137 tech companies have fired 62,114 tech employees, according to Layoffs.fyi. Efforts to reduce headcount at government agencies by the unofficial US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saw an additional 61,296 federal workers fired this year. Kye Mitchell, president of tech workforce staffing firm Experis US, believes the IT employment market is undergoing a fundamental transformation rather than experiencing traditional cyclical layoffs. Although Experis is seeing a 13% month-over-month decline in traditional software developer postings, it doesn’t represent “job destruction, it’s market evolution,” Mitchell said. “What we’re witnessing is the emergence of strategic technology orchestrators who harness AI to drive unprecedented business value,” she said. For example, organizations that once deployed two scrum teams of ten people to develop high-quality software are now achieving superior results with a single team of five AI-empowered developers. “This isn’t about cutting jobs; it’s about elevating roles,” Mitchell said. Specialized roles in particular are surging. Database architect positions are up 2,312%, statistician roles have increased 382%, and jobs for mathematicians have increased 1,272%. “These aren’t replacements; they’re vital for an AI-driven future,” she said. In fact, it’s an IT talent gap, not an employee surplus, that is now challenging organizations — and will continue to do so. With 76% of IT employers already struggling to find skilled tech talent, the market fundamentals favor skilled professionals, according to Mitchell. “The question isn’t whether there will be IT jobs — it’s whether we can develop the right skills fast enough to meet demand,” she said. For federal tech workers, outdated systems and slow procurement make it hard to attract and keep top tech talent. Agencies expect fast team deployment but operate with rigid, outdated processes, according to Justin Vianello, CEO of technology workforce development firm SkillStorm. Long security clearance delays add cost and time, often forcing companies to hire expensive, already-cleared talent. Meanwhile, modern technologists want to use current tools and make an impact — something hard to do with legacy systems and decade-long modernization efforts, he added. Many suggest turning to AI to will solve the tech talent shortage, but there is no evidence that AI will lead to a reduction in demand for tech talent, Vianello said. “On the contrary, companies see that the demand for tech talent has increased as they invest in preparing their workforce to properly use AI tools,” he said. A shortage of qualified talent is a bigger barrier to hiring than AI automation, he said, because organizations struggle to find candidates with the right certifications, skills, and clearances — especially in cloud, cybersecurity, and AI. Tech workers often lack skills in these areas because technology evolves faster than education and training can keep up, Vianello said. And while AI helps automate routine tasks, it can’t replace the strategic roles filled by skilled professionals. Seven out of 10 US organizations are struggling to find skilled workers to fill roles in an ever-evolving digital transformation landscape, and genAI has added to that headache, according to a ManpowerGroup survey released earlier this year. Job postings for AI skills surged 2,000% in 2024, but education and training in this area haven’t kept pace, according to Kelly Stratman, global ecosystem relationships enablement leader at Ernst & Young. “As formal education and training in AI skills still lag, it results in a shortage of AI talent that can effectively manage these technologies and demands,” she said in an earlier interview. “The AI talent shortage is most prominent among highly technical roles like data scientists/analysts, machine learning engineers, and software developers.” Economic uncertainty is creating a cautious hiring environment, but it’s more complex than tariffs alone. Experis data shows employers adopting a “wait and watch” stance as they monitor economic signals, with job openings down 11% year-over-year, according to Mitchell. “However, the bigger story is strategic workforce planning in an era of rapid technological change. Companies are being incredibly precise about where they allocate resources. Not because of economic pressure alone, but because the skills landscape is shifting so rapidly,” Mitchell said. “They’re prioritizing mission-critical roles while restructuring others around AI capabilities.” Top organizations see AI as a strategic shift, not just cost-cutting. Cutting talent now risks weakening core areas like cybersecurity, according to Mitchell. Skillstorm’s Vianello suggests that IT job hunters should begin to upgrade their skills with certifications that matter: AWS, Azure, CISSP, Security+, and AI/ML credentials open doors quickly, he said. “Veterans, in particular, have an edge; they bring leadership, discipline, and security clearances. Apprenticeships and fellowships offer a fast track into full-time roles by giving you experience that actually counts. And don’t overlook the intangibles: soft skills and project leadership are what elevate technologists into impact-makers,” Vianello said. Skills-based hiring has been on the rise for several years, as organizations seek to fill specific needs for big data analytics, programing (such as Rust), and AI prompt engineering. In fact, demand for genAI courses is surging, passing all other tech skills courses spanning fields from data science to cybersecurity, project management, and marketing. “AI isn’t replacing jobs — it’s fundamentally redefining how work gets done. The break point where technology truly displaces a position is when roughly 80% of tasks can be fully automated,” Mitchell said. “We’re nowhere near that threshold for most roles. Instead, we’re seeing AI augment skill sets and make professionals more capable, faster, and able to focus on higher-value work.” Leaders use AI as a strategic enabler — embedding it to enhance, not compete with, human developers, she said. Some industry forecasts predict a 30% productivity boost from AI tools, potentially adding more than $1.5 trillion to global GDP. For example, AI tools are expected to perform the lion’s share of coding. Techniques where humans use AI-augmented coding tools, such as “vibe coding,” are set to revolutionize software development by creating source code, generating tests automatically, and freeing up developer time for innovation instead of debugging code.  With vibe coding, developers use natural language in a conversational way that prompts the AI model to offer contextual ideas and generate code based on the conversation. By 2028, 75% of professional developers will be using vibe coding and other genAI-powered coding tools, up from less than 10% in September 2023, according to Gartner Research. And within three years, 80% of enterprises will have integrated AI-augmented testing tools into their software engineering tool chain — a significant increase from approximately 15% early last year, Gartner said. A report from MIT Technology Review Insights found that 94% of business leaders now use genAI in software development, with 82% applying it in multiple stages — and 26% in four or more. Some industry experts place genAI’s use in creating code much higher. “What we are finding is that we’re three to six months from a world where AI is writing 90% of the code. And then in 12 months, we may be in a world where AI is writing essentially all of the code,” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a recent report and video interview. “The real [AI] transformation is in role evolution. Developers are becoming strategic technology orchestrators,” Mitchell from Experis said. “Data professionals are becoming business problem solvers. The demand isn’t disappearing; it’s becoming more sophisticated and more valuable. “In today’s economic climate, having the right tech talent with AI-enhanced capabilities isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s your competitive edge,” she said.

Given their abundance in American backyards, gardens and highway corridors these days, it may be surprising to learn that white-tailed deer were nearly extinct about a century ago. While they currently number somewhere in the range of 30 million to 35 million, at the turn of the 20th century, there were as few as 300,000 whitetails across the entire continent: just 1% of the current population. This near-disappearance of deer was much discussed at the time. In 1854, Henry David Thoreau had written that no deer had been hunted near Concord, Massachusetts, for a generation. In his famous “Walden,” he reported: “One man still preserves the horns of the last deer that was killed in this vicinity, and another has told me the particulars of the hunt in which his uncle was engaged. The hunters were formerly a numerous and merry crew here.” But what happened to white-tailed deer? What drove them nearly to extinction, and then what brought them back from the brink? As a historical ecologist and environmental archaeologist, I have made it my job to answer these questions. Over the past decade, I’ve studied white-tailed deer bones from archaeological sites across the eastern United States, as well as historical records and ecological data, to help piece together the story of this species. Precolonial rise of deer populations White-tailed deer have been hunted from the earliest migrations of people into North America, more than 15,000 years ago. The species was far from the most important food resource at that time, though. Archaeological evidence suggests that white-tailed deer abundance only began to increase after the extinction of megafauna species like mammoths and mastodons opened up ecological niches for deer to fill. Deer bones become very common in archaeological sites from about 6,000 years ago onward, reflecting the economic and cultural importance of the species for Indigenous peoples. Despite being so frequently hunted, deer populations do not seem to have appreciably declined due to Indigenous hunting prior to AD 1600. Unlike elk or sturgeon, whose numbers were reduced by Indigenous hunters and fishers, white-tailed deer seem to have been resilient to human predation. While archaeologists have found some evidence for human-caused declines in certain parts of North America, other cases are more ambiguous, and deer certainly remained abundant throughout the past several millennia. Human use of fire could partly explain why white-tailed deer may have been resilient to hunting. Indigenous peoples across North America have long used controlled burning to promote ecosystem health, disturbing old vegetation to promote new growth. Deer love this sort of successional vegetation for food and cover, and thus thrive in previously burned habitats. Indigenous people may have therefore facilitated deer population growth, counteracting any harmful hunting pressure. More research is needed, but even though some hunting pressure is evident, the general picture from the precolonial era is that deer seem to have been doing just fine for thousands of years. Ecologists estimate that there were roughly 30 million white-tailed deer in North America on the eve of European colonization—about the same number as today. A 16th-century engraving depicts Indigenous Floridians hunting deer while disguised in deerskins. [Photo: Theodor de Bry/DEA Picture Library/De Agostini/Getty Images] Colonial-era fall of deer numbers To better understand how deer populations changed in the colonial era, I recently analyzed deer bones from two archaeological sites in what is now Connecticut. My analysis suggests that hunting pressure on white-tailed deer increased almost as soon as European colonists arrived. At one site dated to the 11th to 14th centuries (before European colonization) I found that only about 7% to 10% of the deer killed were juveniles. Hunters generally don’t take juvenile deer if they’re frequently encountering adults, since adult deer tend to be larger, offering more meat and bigger hides. Additionally, hunting increases mortality on a deer herd but doesn’t directly affect fertility, so deer populations experiencing hunting pressure end up with juvenile-skewed age structures. For these reasons, this low percentage of juvenile deer prior to European colonization indicates minimal hunting pressure on local herds. However, at a nearby site occupied during the 17th century—just after European colonization—between 22% and 31% of the deer hunted were juveniles, suggesting a substantial increase in hunting pressure. This elevated hunting pressure likely resulted from the transformation of deer into a commodity for the first time. Venison, antlers and deerskins may have long been exchanged within Indigenous trade networks, but things changed drastically in the 17th century. European colonists integrated North America into a trans-Atlantic mercantile capitalist economic system with no precedent in Indigenous society. This applied new pressures to the continent’s natural resources. Deer—particularly their skins—were commodified and sold in markets in the colonies initially and, by the 18th century, in Europe as well. Deer were now being exploited by traders, merchants and manufacturers desiring profit, not simply hunters desiring meat or leather. It was the resulting hunting pressure that drove the species toward its extinction. 20th-century rebound of white-tailed deer Thanks to the rise of the conservation movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, white-tailed deer survived their brush with extinction. Concerned citizens and outdoorsmen feared for the fate of deer and other wildlife, and pushed for new legislative protections. The Lacey Act of 1900, for example, banned interstate transport of poached game and—in combination with state-level protections—helped end commercial deer hunting by effectively de-commodifying the species. Aided by conservation-oriented hunting practices and reintroductions of deer from surviving populations to areas where they had been extirpated, white-tailed deer rebounded. The story of white-tailed deer underscores an important fact: Humans are not inherently damaging to the environment. Hunting from the 17th through 19th centuries threatened the existence of white-tailed deer, but precolonial Indigenous hunting and environmental management appear to have been relatively sustainable, and modern regulatory governance in the 20th century forestalled and reversed their looming extinction. Elic Weitzel, Peter Buck Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Institution This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

As the chaos and confusion surrounding America’s tariff policies continues to swirl, one truth remains a constant: A lot of things are going to get more expensive. No matter what happens to tariffs in the courts or as the result of trade deals with other countries, the prices of many products are going to increase due to tariff pressures, and they probably won’t be going down again any time soon.Companies know their customers aren’t thrilled about price increases, and some will employ a bit of basic trickery to hide the increased costs of their items from you by keeping the sticker price relatively unchanged while compensating for tariff costs in other, less obvious ways. Here are six tricks to watch out for if you're wondering whether an item you're about to by has been affected by tariffs. Shrinkflation“Shrinkflation”—the practice of subtly reducing the amount of a product you get for the same price—isn’t new. Companies have been introducing “new” and “improved” versions of products that are just smaller versions in new packaging for years as a strategy to hide price increases. The strategy works because few consumers take the time to notice just how many ounces or items are contained in the package.Companies will likely be leaning into shrinkflation strategies with a vengeance to hide tariff costs. By reducing the amount of product you get, they can keep the price nominally steady while shaving their costs to compensate for the tariffs they’ll be paying. Make a note of the size and quantities of the products you already have in your house and pay attention the next time you go shopping—you might find you’re getting a lot less for the same price.SkimpflationA subtle way to make up for added tariff costs? Use cheaper ingredients or components. Reducing the quality of what goes into a product reduces costs, which allows the price to stay the same. A recent real-world example involves Scott’s toilet paper, which advertises 1,000 sheets per roll. The number of sheets has remained the same, but the weight of a 4-pack has gone from a little over 2 pounds to just 1 pound, 7.6 ounces in recent years. Something changed—either the thickness of the sheets, or the components used in its production—and the result is a cheaper product being sold for the same price.Skimpflation can be very difficult to spot unless you have older versions and product labels to compare new items against. There are a few more obvious signs:Substitutions. Cardboard instead of plastic components and packaging—cardboard is a lot cheaper.Ingredients. If the first ingredient listed is water, there’s a very good chance you’re looking at a skimpflated product. Water is a common substitution when other ingredients are reduced. Similarly, if a product once made with real sugar now sports high-fructose corn syrup, the product has been changed without telling you.Performance. The proof is often in the performance. If a product you’ve used for a while suddenly isn’t as good or seems to break or wear out more easily, that’s a sign that the company has cheapened the ingredients or production process in some way.Price creepCompensating for tariff costs doesn’t always happen in one dramatic (very noticeable) price increase. Incremental price increases over a period of months can slip under the radar, and before you know it you’re paying 25% more for the same product and you didn’t even notice.Companies sometimes obscure these incremental price hikes by introducing new packaging, which can subconsciously be viewed as a “new” product and visually disconnect the product from the old pricing, making it easier to miss.Excluding stuff that used to be includedOne subtle way to hide tariff costs is to include less stuff with a product. One easy way to reduce costs in gadgets, for example, is to simply stop providing batteries. Another way is to take printed, hardcopy manuals or instructions and make them digital—a QR code to download the manual instead of a printed booklet. If something you buy holds at the old pricing but suddenly doesn’t include everything you’re used to, that’s a sneaky way of hiding those tariffs.One obvious way this comes into play is the packaging: If something that used to come in a box now shows up on shelves on a cardboard tray instead of a full box—or with no packaging at all, just a price tag—that’s another relatively low-impact way companies can deal with tariff costs without literally increasing prices.Mysterious feesA tried-and-true way of deceiving consumers about pricing is the sudden inclusion of mystery fees. This is most effective for digital and online products and services, where fees can be positioned (and named) in various ways. The core price of the product remains the same, and if you’re not watching closely you might not even realize that your overall costs have risen. If you do notice, framing the price increase as a “fee” implies a lack of responsibility on the part of the company—after all, they’re not raising prices, they’re just imposing a fee.Assembly now requiredFinally, if you suddenly find yourself needing a certification in flatpack assembly for just about everything, you might blame tariffs. Shipping items fully-assembled costs more, so engineering them so you can ship them as nested components allows companies to reduce both packaging and shipping costs, offloading the labor cost of assembly to you. So you’re paying the same price at the store, but then you have to pay a little more in sweat equity to actually use the product.

People Can Fly cancels two projects and confirms it will once again have to "scale down" its teams "We wish to express our deepest regret and sadness over how these events have unfolded." Image credit: People Can Fly/Square Enix News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on June 1, 2025 People Can Fly has cancelled two projects and "scaled down" its teams. In a statement posted to LinkedIn this afternoon, CEO Sebastian Wojciechowski said it had been a "difficult decision" but attributed the suspension of Project Gemini and Bifrost to the publisher "not present[ing] us with a draft of the subsequent content rider to the Publishing Agreement", and the Group's cash flow, "which showed a lack of prospects", respectively. "Today we made a very difficult decision to suspend the development of project Gemini and project Bifrost - the relevant current reports have been released to the market," Wojciechowski wrote. "The suspension of the Gemini project is a consequence of the fact that the Publisher has not presented us with a draft of the subsequent content rider to the Publishing Agreement covering the terms and conditions of further milestone on project Gemini and the lack of communication from the Publisher as to its willingness to continue or terminate the Gemini project. "Project Bifrost was suspended due to the above and the analysis of the Group's cash flow, which showed a lack of prospects for securing organisational resources and funds necessary to continue the production and release of this project. "As a result, we have to significantly regroup as a studio and scale down our teams, which hurts the most," Wojciechowski added. "We wish to express our deepest regret and sadness over how these events have unfolded and our sincere gratitude for everyone's contribution up to this point." Wojciechowski did not specify which publisher he thought had failed to "communicate", but the studio has worked with several publishing partners, most recently Square Enix, Krafton, and Sony. It's also working on Gears of War: E-Day. In December, People Can Fly the Outriders developer announced its second round of layoffs in less than a year, this time affecting "more than 120" people. The move accompanies the cancellation or downsizing of several projects, with the studio blaming "external market pressures".

As the chill of June sets in, it's the perfect time to trade spreadsheets for screenplays. Instead of navigating the labyrinth of endless options across Australia's six major streaming platforms, we've curated a selection of standout films and series to warm your winter nights.Table of ContentsNew in June on Foxtel and BingeTV litter pick: Mix Tape – 12 Jun : Former teenage sweethearts reconnect decades later through shared musical memories, reigniting past emotions and questions about their future.Movie litter pick: Wicked – 26 Jun : Explores the origin story of Elphaba and Glinda, two witches whose friendship and destinies shape the Land of Oz.What notable movies are coming to Binge?Rewriting Trump – 1 JunSmile 2 – 4 JunAnora – 11 JunWicked – 26 JunWhat notable series are coming to Binge?Great Canadian Bake Off S8 – 3 JunMr Loverman – 4 JunBelow Deck S12 – 10 JunMix Tape – 12 JunRevival – 13 JunLove It Or List It NZ – 25 JunEva Longoria: Searching For Mexico – 27 JunBack to topNew in June on NetflixTV litter pick: Squid Game S03 – 27 Jun : An animated journey through Pharrell Williams' life, showcasing his musical evolution and creative milestones.Movie litter pick: Piece By Piece – 7 Jun : Contestants engage in deadly games for a cash prize, revealing human nature's darkest facets.What notable movies are coming to Netflix?Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal – 4 JunPiece By Piece – 7 JunTitan: The Oceangate Disaster – 11 JunThe Waterfront – 19 JunKPop Demon Hunters – 20 JunWhat notable series are coming to Netflix?Ginny and Georgia S03 – 5 JunThe Survivors – 6 JunFubar S02 – 12 JunThe Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish S02 – 12 JunDallas Cowboy Cheerleaders S02 – 18 JunThe Ultimatum: Queer Love S02 – 25 JunSquid Game S03 – 27 JunBack to topNew in June on Disney+TV litter pick: The Bear S04 – 26 Jun : Chef Carmy and his team navigate the pressures of the culinary world, striving for excellence amidst chaos.Movie litter pick: Ironheart – 25 Jun : Teen genius Riri Williams builds her own advanced suit of armor, stepping into the superhero world.What notable movies are coming to Disney+?Predator: Killer of Killers – 6 JunOcean with David Attenborough – 8 JunCall Her Alex – 10 JunIronheart – 25 JunWhat notable series are coming to Disney+?Call Her Alex – 10 JunThe Bear S04 – 26 JunBack to topNew in June on Apple TV+TV litter pick: Stick – 4 Jun : A sports dramedy following a former hockey star's return to coaching, blending humor with heartfelt moments.Movie litter pick: Echo Valley – 13 Jun : A suspenseful thriller where a mother confronts dark secrets to protect her daughter from a dangerous past.What notable movies are on Apple TV+?Echo Valley – 13 JunWhat notable series are coming to Apple TV+?Stick – 4 JunThe Buccaneers S02 – 18 JunSmoke – 27 JunSign up for a free 7–day trial of Apple TV+Back to topNew in June on Amazon Prime VideoTV litter pick: Babygirl – 3 Jun : A provocative drama exploring a young woman's journey through love, betrayal, and self-discovery.Movie litter pick: Deep Cover – 12 Jun : An undercover agent infiltrates a drug cartel, facing moral dilemmas and identity crises.What notable movies are coming to Prime Video?Babygirl – 3 JunNascar to Le Mans – 12 JunDeep Cover – 12 JunBeyond After – 24 JunWhat notable series are coming to Prime Video?We Were Liars S01 – 18 JunCountdown S01 – 25 JunMarry My Husband – 27 JunBack to topNew in June on StanTV litter pick: This City Is Ours – 4 Jun : A gritty crime drama delving into power struggles and corruption within a city's law enforcement.Movie litter pick: The Surfer – 15 Jun : A psychological thriller featuring a man confronting his past while facing surreal challenges on a remote beach.What notable movies are coming to Stan?The Surfer – 15 JunJoh: The Last King of Queensland – 22 JunWhat notable series are coming to Stan?This City Is Ours – 4 JunBlack Mafia Family S04 – 6 JunThe Gold S02 – 9 JunAlone S12 – 13 JunHal and Harper – 26 JunBack to top IGN is now on Flash, live and on demand. Stream the latest and trending news for video games, interviews, videos, and wikis. Check it out here. Adam Mathew is our Aussie streaming savant. He also games on YouTube.