Where others have become obsessed with speed and trends, Sergio Membrillas has built a career on slowing down and staying true to his craft. Over 13 years as a professional illustrator, he's evolved a distinct style – bold, graphic, and quietly playful – that feels both timeless and entirely his own. But this evolution, as he's quick to point out, wasn't something he forced. "I believe evolution is essential for every artist," Sergio reflects. "Change is not something I resist; it's something I enjoy and welcome as part of the creative journey." His work, initially influenced by a love of Mid-Century graphic design, has gradually absorbed references as diverse as Etruscan art, Mesopotamian motifs, and early 20th-century traditional tattoos. It's a portfolio built on curiosity, not conformity. Despite his stylistic clarity, Sergio's process remains refreshingly analogue at its core. He still begins each project with pencil and paper, leaning into the tactility of drawing by hand. "I've always valued having a physical relationship with art," he says. "There's something essential about feeling the wood of the pencil, manually erasing mistakes, rather than simply double-tapping a screen." His philosophy of working slowly, attentively, and with purpose shows in the balanced compositions and confident use of negative space that has become his signature. Sergio credits his background in graphic design for this instinctive sense of structure. "There has always been a strong graphic sensibility within me," he says, noting that the discipline of design continues to inform his illustration practice, particularly in editorial and poster work where clarity and storytelling must co-exist. Yet, like many creative careers, his path into illustration wasn't plotted from the start. Initially, Sergio imagined illustration would complement his design projects, not become the main event. "At first, I thought I would incorporate my illustrations into my graphic design projects – but in the end, it turned out to be the other way around." A commission for EasyJet's in-flight magazine marked a pivotal moment that reframed illustration from a hobby to a profession. "It made me realize that being an illustrator is a real profession, just like any other." Fast-forward to today, and Sergio's client list reads like a who's who of publishing and design, from The New Yorker to Pentagram. While the calibre of collaborators has changed, what matters most remains the same: trust. "When a client trusts your work and approaches projects with an open mind, collaboration flourishes," he says. It's in these open, trusting relationships that Sergio finds the space to experiment and further develop his ideas. Unsurprisingly, editorial work holds a special place for him. "Editorial projects offer wider creative margins, allowing for greater flexibility and innovation," he explains. Compared to the tighter confines of advertising, editorial illustration offers the opportunity to tell nuanced stories, and Sergio is clear that he views every assignment, regardless of format, as a collaborative effort. If one thing is clear, though, it's that he's not that he's afraid to say no when needed. Maintaining a strong personal voice is non-negotiable. "I always strive to stay true to myself and ensure that every project I undertake reflects a clear personal signature," he says. For Sergio, authenticity isn't just a matter of artistic pride; it's what differentiates an illustrator in a saturated, increasingly automated industry. Valencia is home for Sergio, a city he credits with much of his creative energy. "Oh, Valencia! It's a beautiful city that inspires me and brings me joy," he says, describing it as a European cousin to Los Angeles with its sun-soaked streets and vibrant cultural scene. The blend of tradition and modernity fuels his practice, offering constant inspiration without the sensory overload that often accompanies larger creative hubs. Given the pressure many creatives feel to keep pace with shifting trends, Sergio's approach feels almost radical. "I'm not particularly interested in trends," he says. "What truly matters to me is the feeling of having done something meaningful and fulfilling by the end of the day." Instead of chasing what's fashionable, he draws inspiration from a surprisingly eclectic bookshelf, mixing everything from Wim Crouwel's graphic design classics to studies on Scandinavian tattoos and Alec Soth's photography. It's a reminder that fresh ideas rarely come from looking where everyone else is looking. In the era of AI and content overload, the role of the illustrator is changing, but Sergio remains optimistic. While machine learning might churn out images at record speed, it can't replicate the nuance and emotional intelligence that underpin great illustration. "Illustrators can tell stories, evoke emotions, and create meaningful connections that machines simply cannot replicate," he says. "Our role is shifting, but the value of authentic, thoughtful illustration remains indispensable." That insistence on authenticity carries through to the advice he offers younger illustrators navigating a commercial landscape. "Create work that makes you happy when you go to sleep at night," Sergio advises. "It's important to find projects that align with your values and passions so your artistic voice remains authentic." It's an ethos that has carried him through more than a decade of creative highs and industry shifts. Perhaps it's the real secret behind the clarity of his practice, which he has built not on chasing trends or algorithms but on careful craft, deliberate evolution, and the simple, enduring joy of a well-made pencil and a blank piece of paper.

06/05 — 2025 by abduzeedo Explore the vibrant branding and visual identity of Leiria Film Fest 2025, designed for broad appeal and lasting impact. The 12th edition of the Leiria Film Fest, held from May 19-25, 2025, presented an opportunity for a compelling visual refresh. Paulo Graça, known as Senhor Paulinho, embraced a design philosophy that is both vibrant and inclusive, setting a new standard for film festival branding and visual identity. His work reflects cinema's power to captivate audiences across generations. This approach moves beyond simple promotion. It seeks to forge an emotional connection, celebrating cinema's universal appeal. Senhor Paulinho's graphic concept uses an illustrative, almost "naive" aesthetic. This choice relies on simple shapes and hand-drawn lines. These elements evoke the spontaneity seen in children's drawings. They also recall the classic texture of film stock. This handcrafted feel bridges the gap between creating art and imagining stories. These two acts are central to both filmmaking and drawing. Such a visual identity extends beyond mere aesthetics. It serves a deeper symbolic purpose: inviting all ages into the cinematic experience. It creates an accessible and emotionally resonant graphic universe, paying tribute to projection, the moving image, and cinema's visual memory. The visual elements were designed for versatility. They scale across various platforms without losing impact. From printed materials like posters and programs to digital banners, festival merchandise, and venue signage, the branding remains cohesive. This adaptability ensures a strong visual identity throughout all communication stages. The imagery, featuring bold eyes and abstract film-like motifs, resonates with the festival's focus on competitive and special sessions, children's events, and even an after-party. This comprehensive branding and visual identity strategy aims to do more than simply advertise an event. It aims to spark curiosity and foster emotional engagement. It celebrates cinema's enduring ability to unite, inspire, and ignite imagination. The design extends an open invitation, welcoming everyone to a shared cultural experience that is both joyful and profound. It reinforces the festival's commitment to community and the arts. The success of the Leiria Film Fest's visual identity lies in its ability to communicate warmth and accessibility while maintaining a sophisticated design language. It is a testament to how thoughtful branding can elevate an event, making it more memorable and inviting. This project provides a valuable case study for designers seeking to create impactful and inclusive visual narratives. Graphic Design by Paulo Graça a.k.a. Senhor Paulinho. Visit his work at https://paulograca.com/en/projects/leiria-film-fest-2025. Branding and visual identity artifacts  Tags branding

One of the key use cases for generative AI involves answering questions over private datasets, with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) as the go-to framework. As new RAG techniques emerge, there’s a growing need to benchmark their performance across diverse datasets and metrics.  To meet this need, we’re introducing BenchmarkQED, a new suite of tools that automates RAG benchmarking at scale, available on GitHub (opens in new tab). It includes components for query generation, evaluation, and dataset preparation, each designed to support rigorous, reproducible testing.   BenchmarkQED complements the RAG methods in our open-source GraphRAG library, enabling users to run a GraphRAG-style evaluation across models, metrics, and datasets. GraphRAG uses a large language model (LLM) to generate and summarize entity-based knowledge graphs, producing more comprehensive and diverse answers than standard RAG for large-scale tasks.  In this post, we walk through the core components of BenchmarkQED that contribute to the overall benchmarking process. We also share some of the latest benchmark results comparing our LazyGraphRAG system to competing methods, including a vector-based RAG with a 1M-token context window, where the leading LazyGraphRAG configuration showed significant win rates across all combinations of quality metrics and query classes. In the paper, we distinguish between local queries, where answers are found in a small number of text regions, and sometimes even a single region, and global queries, which require reasoning over large portions of or even the entire dataset.  Conventional vector-based RAG excels at local queries because the regions containing the answer to the query resemble the query itself and can be retrieved as the nearest neighbor in the vector space of text embeddings. However, it struggles with global questions, such as, “What are the main themes of the dataset?” which require understanding dataset qualities not explicitly stated in the text.   AutoQ: Automated query synthesis This limitation motivated the development of GraphRAG a system designed to answer global queries. GraphRAG’s evaluation requirements subsequently led to the creation of AutoQ, a method for synthesizing these global queries for any dataset. AutoQ extends this approach by generating synthetic queries across the spectrum of queries, from local to global. It defines four distinct classes based on the source and scope of the query (Figure 1, top) forming a logical progression along the spectrum (Figure 1, bottom). Figure 1. Construction of a 2×2 design space for synthetic query generation with AutoQ, showing how the four resulting query classes map onto the local-global query spectrum.  AutoQ can be configured to generate any number and distribution of synthetic queries along these classes, enabling consistent benchmarking across datasets without requiring user customization. Figure 2 shows the synthesis process and sample queries from each class, using an AP News dataset. Figure 2. Synthesis process and example query for each of the four AutoQ query classes.  About Microsoft Research Advancing science and technology to benefit humanity View our story Opens in a new tab AutoE: Automated evaluation framework  Our evaluation of GraphRAG focused on analyzing key qualities of answers to global questions. The following qualities were used for the current evaluation: Comprehensiveness: Does the answer address all relevant aspects of the question?  Diversity: Does it present varied perspectives or insights?  Empowerment: Does it help the reader understand and make informed judgments?  Relevance: Does it address what the question is specifically asking?   The AutoE component scales evaluation of these qualities using the LLM-as-a-Judge method. It presents pairs of answers to an LLM, along with the query and target metric, in counterbalanced order. The model determines whether the first answer wins, loses, or ties with the second. Over a set of queries, whether from AutoQ or elsewhere, this produces win rates between competing methods. When ground truth is available, AutoE can also score answers on correctness, completeness, and related metrics. An illustrative evaluation is shown in Figure 3. Using a dataset of 1,397 AP News articles on health and healthcare, AutoQ generated 50 queries per class (200 total). AutoE then compared LazyGraphRAG to a competing RAG method, running six trials per query across four metrics, using GPT-4.1 as a judge. These trial-level results were aggregated using metric-based win rates, where each trial is scored 1 for a win, 0.5 for a tie, and 0 for a loss, and then averaged to calculate the overall win rate for each RAG method. Figure 3. Win rates of four LazyGraphRAG (LGR) configurations across methods, broken down by the AutoQ query class and averaged across AutoE’s four metrics: comprehensiveness, diversity, empowerment, and relevance. LazyGraphRAG outperforms comparison conditions where the bar is above 50%. The four LazyGraphRAG conditions (LGR_b200_c200, LGR_b50_c200, LGR_b50_c600, LGR_b200_c200_mini) differ by query budget (b50, b200) and chunk size (c200, c600). All used GPT-4o mini for relevance tests and GPT-4o for query expansion (to five subqueries) and answer generation, except for LGR_b200_c200_mini, which used GPT-4o mini throughout. Comparison systems were GraphRAG (Local, Global, and Drift Search), Vector RAG with 8k- and 120k-token windows, and three published methods: LightRAG (opens in new tab), RAPTOR (opens in new tab), and TREX (opens in new tab). All methods were limited to the same 8k tokens for answer generation. GraphRAG Global Search used level 2 of the community hierarchy. LazyGraphRAG outperformed every comparison condition using the same generative model (GPT-4o), winning all 96 comparisons, with all but one reaching statistical significance. The best overall performance came from the larger budget, smaller chunk size configuration (LGR_b200_c200). For DataLocal queries, the smaller budget (LGR_b50_c200) performed slightly better, likely because fewer chunks were relevant. For ActivityLocal queries, the larger chunk size (LGR_b50_c600) had a slight edge, likely because longer chunks provide a more coherent context. Competing methods performed relatively better on the query classes for which they were designed: GraphRAG Global for global queries, Vector RAG for local queries, and GraphRAG Drift Search, which combines both strategies, posed the strongest challenge overall. Increasing Vector RAG’s context window from 8k to 120k tokens did not improve its performance compared to LazyGraphRAG. This raised the question of how LazyGraphRAG would perform against Vector RAG with 1-million token context window containing most of the dataset. Figure 4 shows the follow-up experiment comparing LazyGraphRAG to Vector RAG using GPT-4.1 that enabled this comparison. Even against the 1M-token window, LazyGraphRAG achieved higher win rates across all comparisons, failing to reach significance only for the relevance of answers to DataLocal queries. These queries tend to benefit most from Vector RAG’s ranking of directly relevant chunks, making it hard for LazyGraphRAG to generate answers that have greater relevance to the query, even though these answers may be dramatically more comprehensive, diverse, and empowering overall. Figure 4. Win rates of LazyGraphRAG (LGR) over Vector RAG across different context window sizes, broken down by the four AutoQ query classes and four AutoE metrics: comprehensiveness, diversity, empowerment, and relevance. Bars above 50% indicate that LazyGraphRAG outperformed the comparison condition.  AutoD: Automated data sampling and summarization Text datasets have an underlying topical structure, but the depth, breadth, and connectivity of that structure can vary widely. This variability makes it difficult to evaluate RAG systems consistently, as results may reflect the idiosyncrasies of the dataset rather than the system’s general capabilities. The AutoD component addresses this by sampling datasets to meet a target specification, defined by the number of topic clusters (breadth) and the number of samples per cluster (depth). This creates consistency across datasets, enabling more meaningful comparisons, as structurally aligned datasets lead to comparable AutoQ queries, which in turn support consistent AutoE evaluations. AutoD also includes tools for summarizing input or output datasets in a way that reflects their topical coverage. These summaries play an important role in the AutoQ query synthesis process, but they can also be used more broadly, such as in prompts where context space is limited. Since the release of the GraphRAG paper, we’ve received many requests to share the dataset of the Behind the Tech (opens in new tab) podcast transcripts we used in our evaluation. An updated version of this dataset is now available in the BenchmarkQED repository (opens in new tab), alongside the AP News dataset containing 1,397 health-related articles, licensed for open release.   We hope these datasets, together with the BenchmarkQED tools (opens in new tab), help accelerate benchmark-driven development of RAG systems and AI question-answering. We invite the community to try them on GitHub (opens in new tab).  Opens in a new tab

Netflix has revealed its Kids & Family Summer preview slate. Family Time Picks Paddington in Peru, Now streaming The Wild Robot, Now streaming KPop Demon Hunters, Streams June 20 WWE Monday Night RAW, Streams live Mondays Building the Band, Streams this Summer For The Littles World of Peppa Pig Game & Peppa Pig Season 7, Now streaming PAW Patrol Season 2 & Season 3, Streams July 1 CoComelon Lane Season 5, Streams August 4 Ms. Rachel Season 2, Streams this Summer Fun For Kids The Fairly OddParents: A New Wish Season 2, Streams June 12 Pokémon Horizons: Season 2—The Search for Laqua Part 3, Streams June 27 7 Bears, Streams July 10 Barbie Mysteries: Beach Detectives, Streams August 28 Teens/YA Bet, Now Streaming F1: The Academy, Now streaming Lost in Starlight, Now streaming My Melody & Kuromi, Streams this July My Oxford Year, Streams August 1 Wednesday Season 2 Part 1, Streams August 6 Here’s the 7 Bears trailer: Check out the first six minutes of Wednesday Season 2 now: Source: Netflix Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.

Millennium Systems International is an exciting and dynamic software company based inParsippany, NJ and was founded in 1987 to provide the beauty and wellness industry withforward-thinking, powerful management software and vital tools. We’ve built a companybased on revolutionary technology, outstanding support, and more importantly, a strongpassion to educate salon and spa owners on how to sustain success. Our software isutilized in thousands of salons and spas in over 36 countries, processes billions of dollarsin transactions per year and is used by hundreds of thousands of users. MillenniumSystems International is honored to have been named one of New Jersey's TopWorkplaces!We are currently searching for a Revenue Enablement professional to train and coach oursales professionals to drive team success. Seeking an enthusiastic and high energyprofessional who is passionate about the beauty/salon space!  This is a remote role.Key Responsibilities:• Develop and deliver training materials and resources, including presentations, e-learning modules, and manuals.• Tailor training programs to meet the specific needs of different sales teams,ensuring relevance to products, services, and market trends.• Continuously update training content to reflect changes in the product portfolio,sales strategies, and market conditions.• Teach core sales techniques such as prospecting, lead qualification, negotiation,closing strategies, and upselling.Focus on improving key areas like objection handling, overcoming customerresistance, and relationship-building.• Onboard new sales team members by providing them with a comprehensiveunderstanding of company products, sales processes, and culture.• Facilitate product and sales training sessions to ensure new hires are equipped toperform in their roles from day one.• Monitor the performance of sales representatives before and after training to assessthe effectiveness of the programs.• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide ongoing coaching to individualteam members to ensure continued development and goal achievement.• Partner with sales managers and senior leaders to understand team performancegaps and emerging needs.• Offer solutions and recommendations for improving sales performance throughcustomized training initiatives.• Train sales teams on the use of CRM systems, sales tools, and other relevantsoftware to improve efficiency and tracking.• Ensure the team is proficient in using digital tools to track progress, managepipelines, and close sales.• Track and measure the success of training programs, using metrics such as salesperformance improvements, knowledge retention rates, employee engagement andsuggest adjustments for continuous improvement.• Stay up to date with the latest trends in sales strategies, tools, and technologies.Qualifications:• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field (orequivalent experience).• 3+ years proven experience in sales, with a solid understanding of sales processesand techniques.• Previous experience in a sales training, enablement or coaching role is preferred.Skills:• Strong presentation, communication, and interpersonal skills.• Ability to design engaging and impactful training programs.• Knowledge of CRM software and sales automation tools.• Analytical skills to assess performance and adjust training methods accordingly.• Organizational skills and attention to detail.• Motivational and coaching skills to help salespeople improve their performance.• Passionate about helping others succeed and developing their careers.• Creative thinker with a solutions-oriented mindset.Millennium Systems International is committed to providing all Team Members with competitive wages and salaries that are motivational, fair, and equitable. Our compensation program reflects our core values of Teamwork, Excellence, and Integrity, ensuring transparency and fairness while attracting top talent and fostering an environment that encourages growth and retention.We believe that every Team Member is integral to our collective success, and we value the diverse perspectives, creativity, and innovation they bring. Our compensation packages are designed to reflect individual contributions, taking into account skill set, experience, certifications, and work location.In line with our Client-Centric philosophy, we recognize that the success of our Team Members contributes directly to the success of our clients. As such, we offer compensation packages that not only motivate but also reward performance and excellence.The base salary range for this position in the United States is $54,000-$70,000. In addition to base pay, the total compensation package may also include commission, performance bonuses, benefits, and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans.At Millennium Systems International, we approach every challenge with Passion—striving to exceed expectations, solve challenges with urgency and determination, and create an environment where Team Members thrive and celebrate each other’s successes.We Offer:Paid Time Off (PTO) and Holidays: Enjoy a generous 3 weeks of Paid Time Off (PTO) that begins accruing with every pay period from your very first day! Plus, you’ll enjoy ten (10) paid holidays throughout 2025, along with five (5) paid sick days and one (1) personal day—because we believe in taking care of you!Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits: Your well-being is a priority! We offer subsidized Medical, Dental, and Vision plans, with coverage kicking in quickly. It's all about making sure you stay healthy, happy, and well-cared for.Life Insurance: Peace of mind for you and your loved ones! We provide Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D). What’s even better? Millennium Systems International fully covers the entire cost—100% on us!Long-Term and Short-Term Disability Insurance: Stay secure no matter what life brings your way. Short-Term and Long-Term Disability insurance.  And we’ve got your back—Millennium Systems International covers the full cost of Long-Term Disability at 100%.401(k) Retirement Plan: Plan for your future with confidence! You’ll be eligible to enroll in our robust 401(k) plan. When you do, you’ll enjoy a 100% match on up to 4% of your contributions, thanks to our Safe Harbor plan. It’s our way of helping you build a brighter tomorrow.Learning & Development Opportunities: We foster a culture of growth and professional excellence. As part of our benefits, we offer unlimited access to Udemy’s online courses, helping you refine your skills, explore new areas, and advance your career. Whether you're deepening your expertise or learning new technologies, we’re here to support your development every step of the way.  Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Meet JobCopilot: Your Personal AI Job HunterAutomatically Apply to Remote Sales and Marketing JobsJust set your preferences and Job Copilot will do the rest-finding, filtering, and applying while you focus on what matters. Activate JobCopilot

Whatever your opinion of X, you probably don't think of it as a platform known for fostering agreement. The company is apparently trying to change that, though, and is in the early stages of an experiment that aims to boost posts that are widely agre

The opinion section has become a particular obsession for Bezos.

Customers who pre-order can choose two out of three accessories to go along with their flagship tablet.

White-collar hiring shows strong momentum, led by consumer electronics sector  The Economic Times

White collar hiring up 22% in May from consumer electronics sector: Report  Business Standard