Artificial intelligence has no shortage of visionaries—but the ones who matter are executing. In 4 days, TechCrunch Sessions: AI brings those builders, researchers, funders, and enthusiasts under one roof at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. This isn’t a parade of AI hype or a string of over-edited keynotes. It’s a single day designed for clarity, candor, and real connection. It’s also your last chance to save. Ticket prices rise soon — but right now, you can save over $300 on your pass and get 50% off a second, so your partner, co-founder, or friend can dive in with you. Your next AI insight could come from anywhere Maybe it’s a fireside chat with Jared Kaplan of Anthropic on frontier models. Maybe it’s a breakout session on enterprise deployment with leaders from SAP. Or maybe it’s a deep-dive conversation sparked through the Braindate app — our smarter tool for face-to-face matching based on shared interests. You never know where the game-changing idea will come from. You just need to be in the room. Think you’ve got a winning pitch? Watch what VCs see So You Think You Can Pitch puts AI startups in front of investors for live, unscripted feedback. It’s fast-paced, transparent, and sharp—exactly what early founders need to understand how real funding decisions happen. Image Credits:Halo Creative Only 4 days left: Big ideas, real impact — and rising prices We’ve kept the pricing generous, but the clock is ticking. Save over $300 on your TC Sessions: AI pass and get a second one at 50% off. Group discounts apply too. On June 5, prices go full fare—and with them, your shot at big savings disappears. Lock in your low rate tickets here. Interested in a deeper discount? Participate in our AI trivia for a chance to purchase a ticket at $200 and receive a second ticket for free. Techcrunch event Save now through June 4 for TechCrunch Sessions: AI Save $300 on your ticket to TC Sessions: AI—and get 50% off a second. Hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Khosla Ventures, and more during a full day of expert insights, hands-on workshops, and high-impact networking. These low-rate deals disappear when the doors open on June 5. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW

Meta (Nasdaq:META) is restructuring its AI division into two distinct units, AI Products and AGI Foundations, marking its most significant internal overhaul as it races to compete with OpenAI and Google. The move, detailed in an internal memo from Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and reported by Axios, appoints Connor Hayes to lead AI product integration while Ahmad Al-Dahle and Amir Frenkel will co-direct long-term AGI research. The restructuring comes amid mounting crises, including the delayed Llama 4 Behemoth model and the departure of key Llama architects to competitors like Mistral AI. This marks Meta’s second major AI reorganization since CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2023 attempt to “turbocharge” generative AI efforts, which saw the company fall further behind rivals despite early promise. “Structural changes alone won’t solve Meta’s AI challenges,” said Amandeep Singh, practice director at QKS Group. “While the new AGI Foundations unit creates clarity, retaining elite talent requires a seamless pipeline from research to real-world deployment. Meta has struggled with fragmented pipelines and unclear priorities,” added Singh. Talent exodus and technical setbacks The restructuring follows talent losses that have exposed fundamental weaknesses in Meta’s AI strategy. Only three authors remain from the original 14-person Llama research team, according to Business Insider. Internal surveys cited by The Information reveal plummeting morale in Meta’s AI division, where employees cite resource constraints and sluggish progress. “Talent follows momentum, and right now, momentum lives where research decisions directly shape deployed capabilities,” noted Singh. This talent drain coincides with technical setbacks, most notably the underperforming Llama 4 model, which has struggled with reasoning and mathematical tasks. These combined challenges have left Meta playing catch-up in the race toward artificial general intelligence, despite its early open-source advantages. The company’s strategy, bolstered by initiatives such as Llama for Startups and the recent Llama API launch, aims to attract developers and differentiate it from competitors’ proprietary models. But analysts caution these initiatives alone may not be enough to win enterprise trust. The enterprise adoption dilemma While Llama’s cost advantages remain attractive to businesses, growing concerns about its governance controls and the looming copyright lawsuit over training data are giving enterprises pause. “Companies love Llama’s affordability but expanding safety gaps and legal risks are becoming hard to ignore,” Singh said. “For mission-critical applications, many will ultimately choose more reliable, if more expensive, options like GPT or Gemini.” These cost benefits can lose their appeal when weighed against operational risks. Meta’s reorganization attempts to mitigate these concerns through specialized teams, one deploying generative AI across products, another advancing AGI research, but analysts remain skeptical about whether structural changes alone can solve deeper issues. Unlike Microsoft’s turnkey OpenAI integration or Google’s enterprise-ready Vertex AI platform, Meta lacks both the sales infrastructure and compliance pedigree for regulated industries. As Singh argued, “Enterprise AI adoption hinges on proven compliance frameworks, operational reliability, and mature support systems. Meta still needs to build that trust at Fortune 500 scale.” Meta’s race to close the AGI gap “Meta’s AGI push focused on models with reasoning, multimedia, and voice capabilities aligns with the broader industry trend toward multimodal AI as a catalyst for enterprise transformation,” said Surjyadeb Goswami, research director for AI and Automation at IDC Asia Pacific. He noted that open-source models are critical to enabling cost-effective, transparent, and customizable deployments, especially as organizations deepen their GenAI investments. For Meta to truly capitalize on this opportunity and succeed in its AGI bid, it must rebuild trust especially for enterprise adoption. Singh highlighted the need for Linux-like community stewardship, OpenAI-level safety protocols, and robust enterprise tooling. “Balancing openness with responsibility is Meta’s real challenge, especially as models approach general-purpose cognitive capability.” Meta now needs to show this reorganization yields meaningful improvements in model performance, talent retention, and enterprise adoption to validate its new approach. “Meta’s open-source vision is bold, but execution is everything,” Singh concluded.

The tower takes shape as two sets of overlapping cylinders, clad with prefabricated panels intended to evoke clouds. PROJECT The Butterfly + First Baptist Church Complex ARCHITECT Revery Architecture PHOTOS Ema Peter When you fly into Vancouver, the most prominent structure in the city’s forest of glass skyscrapers is now a 57-storey edifice known as the Butterfly. Designed by Revery Architecture, the luxury residential tower is the latest in a string of high-rises that pop out of the city’s backdrop of generic window-wall façades.  The Butterfly’s striking form evolved over many years, beginning with studies dating back to 2012. Revery principal Venelin Kokalov imagined several options, most of them suggesting a distinct pair of architectural forms in dialogue. Renderings and models of the early concepts relay a wealth of imagination that is sorely missing from much of the city’s contemporary architecture, as land economics, zoning issues, and the profit motive often compel a default into generic glass-and-steel towers. The earliest concepts look starkly different—some evoke the Ginger and Fred building in Prague (Frank Gehry with Vlado Milunić, 1996); others the Absolute Towers in Mississauga (MAD with Burka Varacalli Architects, 2009). But one consistent theme runs through the design evolution: a sense of two Rilkean solitudes, touching.  On each floor, semi-private sky gardens offer an outdoor place for residents to socialize. Client feedback, engineering studies, and simple pragmatics led to the final form: two sets of overlapping cylinders linked by a common breezeway and flanked by a rental apartment on one side and a restored church doubling as a community centre on the other. The contours of the floorplan are visually organic: evocative of human cells dividing. The roundness of the main massing is complemented by curvilinear balustrades that smoothly transform into the outer walls of each unit. It’s an eye-catching counterpoint to the orthogonality of the city’s built landscape. The two adjacent buildings—built, restored, and expanded as part of a density bonus arrangement with the city—help integrate this gargantuan structure with the lower-rise neighbourhood around it.  The Butterfly is a high-end, high-priced residential tower—one of the few typologies in which clients and communities are now willing to invest big money and resources in creative, visually astonishing architecture. That leads to a fundamental question: what is the public purpose of a luxury condo tower?  A public galleria joins the renovated First Baptist Church to the new building. Serving as a welcoming atrium, it allows for community access to the expanded church, including its daycare, full gymnasium, multi-purpose rooms, overnight emergency shelter, and community dining hall equipped with a commercial kitchen. Whatever one feels about the widening divide between the haves and have-nots in our big cities, this building—like its ilk—does serve several important public purposes. The most direct and quantifiable benefits are the two flanking buildings, also designed by Revery and part of the larger project. The seven-storey rental apartment provides a modest contribution to the city’s dearth of mid-priced housing. The superbly restored and seismically upgraded First Baptist Church has expanded into the area between the new tower and original church, and now offers the public a wider array of programming including a gymnasium, childcare facility, and areas for emergency shelter and counselling services for individuals in need.  The church’s Pinder Hall has been reimagined as a venue for church and community events including concerts, weddings, and cultural programming. The Butterfly’s character is largely defined by undulating precast concrete panels that wrap around the building. The architects describe the swooping lines as being inspired by clouds, but for this writer, the Butterfly evokes a 57-layer frosted cake towering above the city’s boxy skyline. Kokalov winces when he hears that impression, but it’s meant as a sincere compliment. Clouds are not universally welcome, but who doesn’t like cake?  Kokalov argues that its experiential quality is the building’s greatest distinction—most notably, the incorporation of an “outdoors”—not a balcony or deck, but an actual outdoor pathway—at all residential levels. For years the lead form-maker at Bing Thom Architects, Kokalov was responsible for much of the curvilinearity in the firm’s later works, including the 2019 Xiqu Centre opera house in Hong Kong. It’s easy to assume that his forte and focus would be pure aesthetic delight, but he avers that every sinuous curve has a practical rationale.  The breezeways provide residents with outdoor entries to their units—an unusual attribute for high-rise towers—and contribute to natural cooling, ventilation, and daylight in the suites. Defying the local tower-on-podium formula, the building’s façade falls almost straight to the ground. At street level, the building is indented with huge parabolic concavities. It’s an abrupt way to meet the street, but the fall is visually “broken” by a publicly accessible courtyard.   The tower’s layered, undulating volume is echoed in a soaring residential lobby, which includes developer Westbank’s signature—a bespoke Fazioli grand piano designed by the building’s architect. After passing through this courtyard, you enter the building via the usual indoor luxe foyer—complete with developer Westbank’s signature, an over-the-top hand-built grand piano designed by the architect. In this case, the piano’s baroquely sculpted legs are right in keeping with the architecture. But after taking the elevator up to the designated floor, you step out into what is technically “outdoors” and walk to your front door in a brief but bracing open-air transition.  The main entrance of every unit is accessed via a breezeway that runs from one side of the building to another. Unglazed and open to the outside, each breezeway is marked at one end with what the architects call (a little ambitiously) a “sky garden,” in most cases consisting of a sapling that will grow into a leafy tree in due course, God and strata maintenance willing. This incorporation of nature and fresh air transforms the condominium units into something akin to townhouses, albeit stacked exceptionally high.  The suites feature a custom counter with a sculptural folded form. Inside each unit, the space can be expanded and contracted and reconfigured visually—not literally—by the fact that the interior wall of the secondary bedroom is completely transparent, floor to ceiling. It’s unusual, and slightly unnerving, but undeniably exciting for any occupants who wish to maximize their views to the mountains and sea. The curved glass wall transforms the room into a private enclave by means of a curtain, futuristically activated by remote control. The visual delight of swooping curves is only tempered when it’s wholly impractical—the offender here being a massive built-in counter that serves to both anchor and divide the living-kitchen areas. It reads as a long, pliable slab that is “folded” into the middle in such a way that the counter itself transforms into its own horseshoe-shaped base, creating a narrow crevice in the middle of the countertop. I marvel at its beauty and uniqueness; I weep for whoever is assigned to clean out the crumbs and other culinary flotsam that will fall into that crevice.  A structure made of high-performance modular precast concrete structural ribs arcs over a swimming pool that bridges between the building’s main amenity space and the podium roof. The building’s high-priced architecture may well bring more to the table than density-bonus amenities. On a broader scale, these luxe dwellings may be just what is needed to help lure the affluent from their mansions. As wealthy residents and investors continue to seek out land-hogging detached homes, the Butterfly offers an alternate concept that maintains the psychological benefit of a dedicated outside entrance and an outrageously flexible interior space. Further over-the-top amenities add to the appeal. Prominent among these is a supremely gorgeous residents-only swimming pool, housed within ribs of concrete columns that curve and dovetail into beams.   The ultimate public purpose for the architecturally spectacular condo tower: its role as public art in the city. The units in any of these buildings are the private side of architecture’s Janus face, but its presence in the skyline and on the street is highly public. By contributing a newly striking visual ballast, the Butterfly has served its purpose as one of the age-old Seven Arts: defining a location, a community, and an era. Adele Weder is a contributing editor to Canadian Architect. Screenshot CLIENT Westbank Corporation, First Baptist Church | ARCHITECT TEAM Venelin Kokalov (MRAIC), Bing Thom (FRAIC, deceased 2016), Amirali Javidan, Nicole Hu, Shinobu Homma MRAIC, Bibi Fehr, Culum Osborne, Dustin Yee, Cody Loeffen, Kailey O’Farrell, Mark Melnichuk, Andrea Flynn, Jennifer Zhang, Daniel Gasser, Zhuoli Yang, Lisa Potopsingh | STRUCTURAL Glotman Simpson | MECHANICAL Introba | ELECTRICAL Nemetz & Associates, Inc. | LANDSCAPE SWA Group (Design) w/ Cornelia Oberlander & G|ALA – Gauthier & Associates Landscape Architecture, Inc. (Landscape Architect of Record) | INTERIORS Revery Architecture | CONTRACTOR Icon West Construction (new construction); The Haebler Group (heritage) | LIGHTING ARUP (Design) & Nemetz (Engineer of Record) | SUSTAINABILITY & ENERGY MODELlING Introba | BUILDING ENVELOPE RDH Building Science, Inc. | HERITAGE CONSERVATION Donald Luxton & Associates, Inc.| ACOUSTICS BKL Consultants Ltd. | TRAFFIC Bunt & Associates, Inc. | POOL Rockingham Pool Consulting, Inc. | FOUNTAIN Vincent Helton & Associates | WIND Gradient Wind Engineering, Inc. | WASTE CONSULTANT Target Zero Waste Consulting, Inc. | AREA 56,206 M2 | BUDGET Withheld | COMPLETION Spring 2025 ENERGY USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 106 kWh/m2/year | WATER USE INTENSITY (PROJECTED) 0.72 m3/m2/year As appeared in the June 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine The post The Butterfly takes flight: The Butterfly, Vancouver, BC appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Transparent design is the intentional use of see-through or translucent materials and visual strategies to evoke openness, honesty, and fluidity in both spatial and product design. It enhances light flow, visibility, and interaction, blurring boundaries between spaces or revealing inner layers of products. In interiors, this manifests through glass walls, acrylic dividers, and open layouts that invite natural light and visual connection. Transparency in product design often exposes internal mechanisms in products, fostering trust and curiosity by making functions visible. It focuses on simplicity, clarity, and minimalist form, creating seamless connections between objects and their environments. Let’s now explore how transparency shapes the function, experience, and emotional impact of spatial and product design. Transparent Spatial Design Transparency in spatial design serves as a powerful architectural language that transcends mere material choice, creating profound connections between spaces and their inhabitants. By employing translucent or clear elements, designers can dissolve traditional boundaries, allowing light to penetrate deeply into interiors while establishing visual relationships between previously separated areas. This permeability creates a dynamic spatial experience where environments flow into one another, expanding perceived dimensions and fostering a sense of openness. The strategic use of transparent elements – whether through glass partitions, open floor plans, or permeable screens – transforms rigid spatial hierarchies into fluid, interconnected zones that respond to contemporary needs for flexibility and connection with both surrounding spaces and natural environments. Beyond its physical manifestations, transparency embodies deeper philosophical principles in design, representing honesty, clarity, and accessibility. It democratizes space by removing visual barriers that traditionally signaled exclusion or privacy, instead promoting inclusivity and shared experience. In public buildings, transparent features invite engagement and participation, while in residential contexts, they nurture connection to nature and enhance wellbeing through abundant natural light. This approach challenges designers to thoughtfully balance openness with necessary privacy, creating nuanced spatial sequences that can reveal or conceal as needed. When skillfully implemented, transparency becomes more than an aesthetic choice, it becomes a fundamental design strategy that shapes how we experience, navigate, and emotionally respond to our built environment. 1. Expands Perception of Space Transparency in spatial design enhances how people perceive space by blurring the boundaries between rooms and creating a seamless connection between the indoors and the outdoors. Materials like glass and acrylic create visual continuity, making interiors feel larger, more open, and seamlessly integrated. This approach encourages a fluid transition between spaces, eliminates confinement, and promotes spatial freedom. As a result, transparent design contributes to an inviting atmosphere while maximising natural views and light penetration throughout the environment. Nestled in St. Donat near Montreal, the Apple Tree House by ACDF Architecture is a striking example of transparent design rooted in emotional memory. Wrapped around a central courtyard with a symbolic apple tree, the low-slung home features expansive glass walls that create continuous visual access to nature. The transparent layout not only blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors but also transforms the apple tree into a living focal point and is visible from multiple angles and spaces within the house. This thoughtful transparency allows natural light to flood the interiors while connecting the home’s occupants with the changing seasons outside. The home’s square-shaped plan includes three black-clad volumes that house bedrooms, a lounge, and service areas. Despite the openness, privacy is preserved through deliberate wall placements. Wooden ceilings and concrete floors add warmth and texture, but it’s the full-height glazing that defines the home that frames nature as a permanent, ever-evolving artwork at its heart. 2. Enhances the Feeling of Openness One of the core benefits of transparent design is its ability to harness natural light, transforming enclosed areas into luminous, uplifting environments. By using translucent or clear materials, designers reduce the need for artificial lighting and minimize visual barriers. This not only improves energy efficiency but also fosters emotional well-being by connecting occupants to daylight and exterior views. Ultimately, transparency promotes a feeling of openness and calm, aligning with minimalist and modern architectural principles. The Living O’Pod by UN10 Design Studio is a transparent, two-story pod designed as a minimalist retreat that fully immerses its occupants in nature. Built with a steel frame and glass panels all around, this glass bubble offers uninterrupted panoramic views of the Finnish wilderness. Its remote location provides the privacy needed to embrace transparency, allowing residents to enjoy stunning sunrises, sunsets, and starry nights from within. The open design blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, creating a unique connection with the environment. Located in Repovesi, Finland, the pod’s interiors feature warm plywood floors and walls that complement the natural setting. A standout feature is its 360° rotation, which allows the entire structure to turn and capture optimal light and views throughout the day. Equipped with thermal insulation and heating, the Living O’Pod ensures comfort year-round and builds a harmonious relationship between people and nature. 3. Encourages Interaction Transparent design reimagines interiors as active participants in the user experience, rather than passive backgrounds. Open sightlines and clear partitions encourage movement, visibility, and spontaneous interaction among occupants. This layout strategy fosters social connectivity, enhances spatial navigation, and aligns with contemporary needs for collaboration and flexibility. Whether in residential, commercial, or public spaces, transparency supports an intuitive spatial flow that strengthens the emotional and functional relationship between people and their environment. The Beach Cabin on the Baltic Sea, designed by Peter Kuczia, is a striking architectural piece located near Gdansk in northern Poland. This small gastronomy facility combines simplicity with bold design, harmoniously fitting into the beach environment while standing out through its innovative form. The structure is composed of two distinct parts: an enclosed space and an expansive open living and dining area that maximizes natural light and offers shelter. This dual arrangement creates a balanced yet dynamic architectural composition that respects the surrounding landscape. A defining feature of the cabin is its open dining area, which is divided into two sections—one traditional cabin-style and the other constructed entirely of glass. The transparent glass facade provides uninterrupted panoramic views of the Baltic Sea, the shoreline, and the sky, enhancing the connection between interior and nature. Elevated on stilts, the building appears to float above the sand, minimizing environmental impact and contributing to its ethereal, dreamlike quality. Transparent Product Design In product design, transparency serves as both a functional strategy and a powerful communicative tool that transforms the relationship between users and objects. By revealing internal components and operational mechanisms through clear or translucent materials, designers create an immediate visual understanding of how products function, demystifying technology and inviting engagement. This design approach establishes an honest dialogue with consumers, building trust through visibility rather than concealment. Beyond mere aesthetics, transparent design celebrates the beauty of engineering, turning circuit boards, gears, and mechanical elements into intentional visual features that tell the product’s story. From the nostalgic appeal of see-through gaming consoles to modern tech accessories, this approach satisfies our innate curiosity about how things work while creating a more informed user experience. The psychological impact of transparency in products extends beyond functional clarity to create deeper emotional connections. When users can observe a product’s inner workings, they develop increased confidence in its quality and craftsmanship, fostering a sense of reliability that opaque designs often struggle to convey. This visibility also democratizes understanding, making complex technologies more accessible and less intimidating to diverse users. Transparent design elements can evoke powerful nostalgic associations while simultaneously appearing futuristic and innovative, creating a timeless appeal that transcends trends. By embracing transparency, designers reject the notion that complexity should be hidden, instead celebrating the intricate engineering that powers our everyday objects. This philosophy aligns perfectly with contemporary values of authenticity and mindful consumption, where users increasingly seek products that communicate honesty in both form and function. 1. Reveals Functionality Transparent product design exposes internal components like wiring, gears, or circuits, turning functional parts into visual features. This approach demystifies the object, inviting users to understand how it works rather than hiding its complexity. It fosters appreciation for craftsmanship and engineering while encouraging educational curiosity. By showcasing what lies beneath the surface, designers build an honest relationship with consumers that is based on clarity, trust, and visible function. Packing a backpack often means tossing everything in and hoping for the best—until you need something fast. This transparent modular backpack concept reimagines that daily hassle with a clear, compartmentalized design that lets you see all your gear at a glance. No more digging through a dark abyss—every item has its visible place. The bag features four detachable, differently sized boxes that snap together with straps, letting you customize what you carry. Grab just the tech module or gym gear block and go—simple, efficient, and streamlined. Unlike traditional organizers that hide contents in pouches, the transparent material keeps everything in plain sight, saving time and frustration. While it raises valid concerns around privacy and security, the clarity and convenience it offers make it ideal for fast-paced, on-the-go lifestyles. With form meeting function, this concept shows how transparent design can transform not just how a bag looks, but how it works. 2. Enhances User Engagement When users can see how a product operates, they feel more confident using it. Transparent casings invite interaction by reducing uncertainty about internal processes. This visible clarity reassures users about the product’s integrity and quality, creating a psychological sense of openness and reliability. Especially in tech and appliances, this strategy deepens user trust and adds emotional value by allowing a more intimate connection with the design’s purpose and construction. The transparent Sony Glass Blue WF-C710N earbuds represent something more meaningful than a mere aesthetic choice, embodying a refreshing philosophy of technological honesty. While most devices conceal their inner workings behind opaque shells, Sony’s decision to reveal the intricate circuitry and precision components celebrates the engineering artistry that makes these tiny audio marvels possible. As you catch glimpses of copper coils and circuit boards through the crystal-clear housing, there’s a renewed appreciation for the invisible complexity that delivers your favorite music, serving as a visual reminder that sometimes the most beautiful designs are those that have nothing to hide. 3. Celebrates Aesthetic Engineering Transparency turns utilitarian details into design features, allowing users to visually experience the beauty of inner mechanisms. This trend, seen in everything from vintage electronics to modern gadgets and watches, values technical artistry as much as outer form. Transparent design redefines aesthetics by focusing on the raw, mechanical truth of a product. It appeals to minimalism and industrial design lovers, offering visual depth and storytelling through exposed structure rather than decorative surface embellishment. DAB Motors’ 1α Transparent Edition brings retro tech flair into modern mobility with its striking transparent bodywork. Inspired by the see-through gadgets of the ”90s—like the Game Boy Color and clear Nintendo controllers—this electric motorcycle reveals its inner mechanics with style. The semi-translucent panels offer a rare peek at the bike’s intricate engineering, blending nostalgia with innovation. Carbon fiber elements, sourced from repurposed Airbus materials, complement the lightweight transparency, creating a visual experience that’s both futuristic and rooted in classic design aesthetics. The see-through design isn’t just for looks—it enhances the connection between rider and machine. Exposed components like the integrated LCD dashboard, lenticular headlight, and visible frame structure emphasize function and precision. This openness aligns with a broader transparent design philosophy, where clarity and honesty in construction are celebrated. The DAB 1α turns heads not by hiding complexity, but by proudly displaying it, making every ride a statement in motion. Beyond just materials, transparent design also reflects a deeper design philosophy that values clarity in purpose, function, and sustainability. It supports minimalist thinking by focusing on what’s essential, reducing visual clutter, and making spaces or products easier to understand and engage with. Whether in interiors or objects, transparency helps create a more honest, functional, and connected user experienceThe post Transparent Design: How See-Through Materials Are Revolutionizing Architecture & Product Design first appeared on Yanko Design.

Outlets 8, Conghua | © Wu Siming In the landscape of contemporary Chinese urbanism, few typologies encapsulate the contradictions of late-capitalist development more vividly than the pseudo-European commercial complex. These replicated enclaves, constructed en masse in the early 2000s, were once marketed as symbols of international sophistication. Over time, however, many were abandoned, becoming architectural vestiges of speculative urbanism. Outlets 8 in Conghua, Guangzhou, is one such project that has undergone a radical architectural reinterpretation. Originally completed in 2018 but long dormant, it has been reimagined by E Plus Design in collaboration with URBANUS/LXD Studio. Through a precise, light-touch intervention, the project avoids wholesale demolition and reprograms space through color, rhythm, and landscape strategy. Outlets 8, Conghua Technical Information Architects1-14: E Plus Design Central Plaza Design: URBANUS / LXD Studio Location: Conghua District, Guangzhou, China Gross Area: 80,882 m2 | 870,000 Sq. Ft. Project Years: 2022 – 2023 Photographs: © Wu Siming This approach is like a contemporary remix of classical music. The four blocks correspond to four movements. Without extensive demolition or altering the European-style architectural rhythm, we reinterpreted the emotional tones, chords, and cadenzas. Through a blend of color and modern gestures, the outdated and disproportionate ‘faux-antique’ complex has been reorchestrated into a contemporary architectural symphony. – Li Fu, Chief Architect at E Plus Design Outlets 8, Conghua Photographs Aerial View | © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Wu Siming © Chen Liang Liu Shan © Chen Liang Liu Shan © Chen Liang Liu Shan Outlets 8 Context and Typological Challenge Outlets 8 was initially conceived as a 110,000-square-meter faux-European outlet village. Despite its scale and investment, it struggled to resonate with local cultural dynamics and remained idle. The typology itself, rooted in nostalgic mimicry, was already facing obsolescence. The challenge, then, was not only architectural but also conceptual: how to resuscitate a typology that had become both spatially and culturally inert. The design team chose a strategy of minimal physical intervention coupled with maximal perceptual impact. Rather than demolish or drastically reconstruct, they aimed to re-signify the existing structures. This approach reflects a growing trend in urban renewal across China, where sustainability, cost-efficiency, and cultural specificity take precedence over spectacle. Spatial Transformation Through Chromatic Reprogramming After | © Wu Siming Before | Original Facade, © E+ At the intervention’s core is using color as a spatial and psychological agent. The ornament-heavy facades were stripped of their polychromatic excess and repainted in low-saturation hues. This chromatic cleansing revealed the formal rhythms of the architecture beneath. By doing so, the design avoids mimicry and opts for abstraction, reintroducing clarity to the site’s visual language. The design framework is structured as a musical metaphor, with each of the four blocks conceived as a separate movement in a visual symphony. The street-facing facades, now unified through a golden “variation,” establish a new urban frontage that is both legible and symbolically rich. A ribbon-like golden band traces across the main elevations, creating continuity and contrast between old and new volumes. In contrast, the sports block adopts a cooler, blue-toned palette, offering a different spatial and functional rhythm. New architectural insertions are rendered in transparent materials, signaling temporal and programmatic distinctions. At the center, the elliptical plaza becomes a spatial crescendo, defined by a sculptural intervention inspired by Roman aqueducts. This feature functions as a landmark and a temporal break, juxtaposing historical references with performative landscape elements. Rewriting Landscape as Urban Ecology After | © Wu Siming Before | Original Facade, © E+ Water, derived from the nearby Liuxi River, serves as the thematic and material backbone of the landscape design. Its integration is not symbolic but functional. Water flows through constructed channels, interactive fountains, and sculptural cascades that encourage observation and participation. These elements create a multisensory environment that enhances the spatial experience while reinforcing ecological awareness. The planting strategy emphasizes native species capable of withstanding Guangzhou’s subtropical climate. The design maximizes greenery wherever regulatory conditions allow, particularly along the main entrance, central corridors, and arcaded walkways. The result is a layered landscape that balances visual density with ecological resilience. Integrating landscape and architecture as a singular design operation, the project shifts away from ornamental greening toward environmental synthesis. This approach foregrounds interaction and immersion, aligning with broader shifts in landscape architecture toward performative and participatory ecologies. Programmatic Rebirth and Urban Implications After | © Wu Siming Before | Original Facade, © E+ Beyond formal and material considerations, the project redefines the programmatic potential of large-scale retail environments. Positioned as a “micro-vacation” destination, Outlets 8 is a hybrid typology. It combines retail, leisure, and outdoor experience within a cohesive spatial narrative. This reprogramming responds to changing patterns of consumption and leisure in Chinese cities, particularly among younger demographics seeking experiential value over transactional efficiency. Statistical metrics underscore the project’s social impact. In its first nine days, the outlet attracted over half a million visitors and became a trending location across multiple digital platforms. While not the focus of architectural critique, these figures reflect a successful alignment between spatial renewal and public resonance. More importantly, the project offers a replicable model for dealing with the vast inventory of misaligned commercial developments across China. The intervention avoids nostalgia and cynicism by foregrounding perceptual clarity, ecological integration, and cultural recontextualization. Instead, it offers a clear path forward for reimagining the built remnants of a prior urban paradigm. Outlets 8, Conghua Plans Elevations | © E Plus Design Floor Plan | © E Plus Design Floor Plan | © E Plus Design Floor Plan | © E Plus Design Floor Plan | © E Plus Design Sections | © E Plus Design Outlets 8, Conghua Image Gallery About E Plus Design E Plus Design is a multidisciplinary architecture studio based in Shenzhen, China, known for its innovative approaches to urban renewal, adaptive reuse, and large-scale public space transformations. The firm emphasizes minimal intervention strategies, spatial clarity, and contextual sensitivity, often working at the intersection of architecture, landscape, and urban design to create integrated environments that are both socially responsive and experientially rich. Credits and Additional Notes Chief Design Consultant: Liu Xiaodu Master Plan, Architecture, and Landscape Schemes: E Plus Design Lead Architects: Li Fu, Coco Zhou Project Managers (Architecture): Guo Sibo, Huang Haifeng Architectural Design Team: Wang Junli, Zhang Yan, Cai Yidie, Zhu Meng, Lin Zhaomei, Li Geng, Stephane Anil Mamode, Liu Shan, Zhou Yubo Central Plaza Design: URBANUS / LXD Studio Architect of Central Plaza: Liu Xiaodu Project Manager: Li An’hong Facade Design: Song Baolin, Li Minggang Lighting Design (Concept): Fang Yuhui Lighting Consultant: Han Du Associates Client: Guangzhou Outlets 8 Commercial Management Co., Ltd. Client Design Management Team: Yin Mingyue, Zhao Xiong Landscape Area: 29,100 m² Chief Landscape Architect: Gao Yan Project Manager (Landscape): Zhang Yufeng Landscape Design Team: Yu Xiaolei, Li Zhaozhan, Liu Chenghua Landscape Construction Drawings: E Plus Design Project Manager: Wang Bin Design Team: Wang Bin (Landscape Architecture). Huang Jinxiong (Greening Design). Li Gen (Water & Electricity Design) Structural Design Team: Wang Kaiming, Yang Helin, Wu Xingwei, Zhuang Dengfa Electrical Design Team: Sun Wei, Yang Ying Interior Design Concept Design: Shenzhen Juanshi Design Co., Ltd. Chief Interior Designer: Feng Feifan Project Manager: Liu Hongwei Design Team: Niu Jingxian, Shi Meitao Construction Drawings: Shenzhen Shiye Design Co., Ltd. Project Manager: Shen Kaizhen Design Team: Yao Yijian, Yang Hao, Liu Chen Wayfinding Design Studio: Hexi Brand Design Co., Ltd. Curtain Wall Design Firm: Positive Attitude Group (PAG)

Author Hey! I'm Sam from Mythcarver Games, a small and passionate dev studio from Canada, and we’re on the lookout for our next exciting project (Unity & Unreal)!📺 Portfolio with some of our workWe partner with indie creatives, and while we can be ‘engineering muscles for hire’, the team is not just comprised of exceptional developers. We know the gaming business deeply, and collaborate closely with our partners to build successful games. We’ve delivered over 50 projects since 2017!What we do:💻 Game Development (Unity & Unreal): We focus on programming to build full games or jump in tactically where things get complex.📈 Real Traction: We’ve helped run Kickstarter campaigns (over 4x the $ avg) and land publishing deals.🤝 Extend Your Team: We’re senior-only devs (7+ years exp avg), transparent, and with minimal overhead.💪 We Understand the Indie Struggle: This is a paid engagement. We don’t charge Californian AAA rates and are open to cost + revshare deal if the fit is right.Serious about making your game? Say hi, we don't bite =]💬 Discord: samgomes✉ [email protected]  Hey Sam, thanks for sharing this. I've just checked out some of the work from Mythcarver; it's excellent stuff. The focus on senior-only devs and being open to flexible models like cost + revshare is definitely interesting, especially for smaller teams trying to scale up. I'm curious, how do you usually handle communication and project management when working with distributed indie teams? Advertisement Bonjour!!! I like your website art.

Microsoft and Google are taking distinctive approaches with AI agents in their productivity suites, and enterprises need to account for the differences when formulating digital labor strategies, analysts said. In recent months, both companies have announced a dizzying array of new agents aimed at extracting value from corporate documents and maximizing efficiency. The tech giants have dropped numerous hints about where they’re headed with AI agents in their respective office suites, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Microsoft is reshaping its Copilot assistant as a series of tools to create, tap into, and act on insights at individual and organizational levels. The Microsoft 365 roadmap lists hundreds of specialized AI tools under development to automate work for functions such as HR and accounting. The company is also developing smaller AI models to carry out specific functions. Google is going the opposite way, with its large-language model Gemini at the heart of Workspace. Google offers tools that include Gems for workers to create simple custom agents that automate tasks such as customer service, and Agentspace in Google Cloud to build more complex custom agents for collaboration and workflow management. At the recent Google I/O developer conference, the company added real-time speech translation to Google Meet. “For both, the goal is to bring usable and practical productivity and efficiency capabilities to work tools,” said Liz Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research. But the differing AI agent strategies are heavily rooted in each company’s philosophical approaches to productivity. Although Microsoft has long encouraged customers to move from its traditional “perpetual-license” Office suite to the Microsoft 365 subscription-based model, M365 notably retains the familiar desktop apps. Google Workspace, on the other hand, has always been cloud-based. Microsoft users are typically a bit more tethered to traditional enterprise work styles, while Google has always been the “cloud-first darling for smaller organizations that still crave real-time collaboration,” Miller said. When it comes to the generative AI models being integrated into the two office suites, “Google’s Gemini models are beating out the models being deployed by Microsoft,” Miller said. “But as Microsoft expands its model ‘inventory’ in use across M365, this could change.” Microsoft has an advantage, as many desktop users live in Outlook or Word. The intelligence Copilot can bring from CRM software is readily available, while that integration is more complex in the cloud-native Google Workspace. “Microsoft still has an edge in a foundational understanding of work and the capacity to extend Copilot connections across applications as expansive as the Office suite through to Dynamics, giving AI a greater opportunity to be present in the spaces and presentation layers where workers enjoy working,” Miller said. Microsoft’s Copilot Agents and Google’s Gems and Agentspace are in their early stages, but there have been positive developments, said J.P. Gownder, a vice president and principal analyst on Forrester’s Future of Work team. Microsoft recently adopted Google’s A2A protocol, which makes it easier for users of both productivity suites to collaborate and unlock value from stagnant data sitting on other platforms. “That should be a win for interoperability,” Gownder said. But most companies that are Microsoft shops have years or decades of digital assets that hold them back from considering Google, he said. For example, Excel macros, pivot tables, and customizations cannot be easily or automatically migrated to Google Sheets, he said. “As early as this market is, I don’t think it’s fair to rank either player — Microsoft or Google — as being the leader; both of them are constructing new ecosystems to support the growth of agentic AI,” Gownder said. Most Microsoft Office users have moved to M365, but AI is helping Google is making inroads into larger organizations, especially among enterprises that are newer and less oriented toward legacy Microsoft products, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. Technologies like A2A blur the line between on-premises and cloud productivity. As a result, “Google Workspace is no longer perceived as inferior, as it had been in the past,” Gold said. And for budget-constrained enterprises, the value of AI agent features is not the only consideration. “There is also the cost equation at work here, as Google seems to have a much more transparent cost structure than Microsoft with all of its user classes and discounts,” Gold said. Microsoft does not include Copilot in its M365 subscriptions, which vary in price depending on the type of customer. The Copilot business subscriptions range from $30 per user per month for M365 Copilot to $200 per month for 25,000 messages for Copilot Studio, which is also available under a pay-as-you-go model. Google has flat subscription pricing for Workspace, starting at $14 per user per month for business plans with Gemini included.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. DirectX Raytracing gets performance boost with Opacity Micromaps, now in Agility SDK 1.616 Paul Hill Neowin @ziks_99 · May 31, 2025 07:44 EDT Back in March at the Game Developers Conference 2025 (GDC 2025), Microsoft unveiled DirectX Raytracing (DXR) 1.2, which introduces Opacity Micromaps (OMM). The Redmond giant has now announced the Agility SDK 1.616-retail, which includes support for OMM. You can grab it at the Agility SDK downloads page right now. What are OMMs? The new Opacity Micromaps (OMM) feature has been designed to improve the efficiency of rendering objects such as foliage, fences, transparent features, and other complex alpha-tested geometry (objects with transparent parts that aren't fully opaque or transparent) in ray-traced scenes. The main performance boost comes from reducing the need for “AnyHit” shaders, which require lots of computation and can slow down raytracing. The performance improvements from OMM are not just theoretical, either. At GDC 2025, Remedy Entertainment showed off the performance wins it had using the technology in Alan Wake 2. When will we get OMM support? In terms of support for OMM, Nvidia already has it activated on all Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs, AMD is planning to make it available during the summer, and Intel is still evaluating the technology and “looks forward to supporting the feature in the future.” Before users can unlock the performance boosts associated with OMM, developers will need to start building with tools such as the new Agility SDK, which was released on Friday. Aside from performance boosts, it could also unlock new artistic possibilities and reduce development hurdles. How do OMMs work? In ray tracing, when a ray hits alpha-tested geometry, the graphics card runs an AnyHit shader to determine if the part of the object the ray hit is opaque or transparent. If it’s transparent, the ray keeps going until it hits another object. As mentioned, using the AnyHit shaders can slow things down, so they’re best avoided as much as possible - this is where Opacity Micromaps comes in. These OMMs are essentially a pre-check for AnyHit shaders. They first try to determine if an object is opaque or transparent, and only if they aren’t sure will AnyHit shaders be run. This process is much more efficient than running AnyHit shaders in every situation. Going forward The option to use OMMs in games via the Agility SDK is a big step forward in ray tracing performance. However, end users will need to wait until developers have started building with it in their games and support by hardware manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD is also key. Developers can head to the Agility SDK downloads and grab version 1.616 to get started. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Reading Time: 11 minutes Choosing the right drip email software can be a game-changer for your marketing strategy. With a variety of options available, understanding the pricing models and features each tool offers is key to making an informed decision. In this guide, we’ll walk you through essential factors to consider when evaluating pricing, so you can select the best solution that fits your needs and budget for your drip email campaigns. Ready to dive deeper? Let’s explore your options.   What Does Drip Email Marketing Software Cost? Drip email marketing software typically follows a few different pricing models, depending on the provider. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common ones: Pricing Based on MAUs (Monthly Active Users): You pay based on how many unique subscribers actually engage with your emails (or your system) each month, not your entire list size. It’s a much fairer, scalable way to pay, especially if your audience fluctuates. You only pay for real activity. Flat-Rate Pricing: You pay a fixed monthly fee, regardless of usage, list size, or activity. But flat rates are often bloated to cover all usage types, so you’re likely overpaying if you’re not sending a massive volume of emails. It’s not cost-efficient for scaling brands. List-Based Pricing: You pay based on the total number of contacts in your database, whether they engage or not. However, you end up paying for cold leads, dead emails, and inactive contacts. This makes your costs climb unnecessarily as your list grows. Email Volume-Based Pricing: You’re charged based on how many emails you send each month. It can discourage you from running important nurturing campaigns or re-engagement flows because every email adds to your bill. It’s unpredictable and can spike costs during promotions. For email marketers, this model means added pressure to limit sends, often at the cost of customer experience and long-term engagement. Some platforms even bundle unnecessary features into expensive tiers, which bloats the pricing, especially for features you may not actually need. This is where MoEngage stands out. The platform offers a more transparent and scalable approach so that pricing is aligned to your actual usage and outcomes rather than inflated send limits.   6 Biggest Factors that Affect Drip Email Pricing Drip email pricing depends on several factors. Here are some of the biggest ones: 1. Number of active contacts Some platforms, particularly the ones that use the MAU pricing model, charge based on the number of customers who interact with your emails. The higher the number of active customers, the higher the pricing. 2. List size Managing an email list is easier said than done. Nevertheless, if you have a large database of contacts, you will be charged a higher monthly fee. In this case, pricing will remain the same even if you don’t have many active subscribers on your list. 3. Email volume The number of emails you send plays a big role in pricing. This is because high-volume automated email marketing campaigns require significant infrastructure for email delivery, tracking, and reporting. 4. Advanced features Platforms offering advanced features like RFM segmentation, automation, A/B testing, analytics, and AI-driven personalization typically charge more than others. Some pricing models allow you to opt for some or all of these features, depending on your business requirements. 5. Automation complexity If your drip campaign involves complex workflows, like different stages, conditions, triggers, etc., it can impact the pricing. Automation requires more resources to set up and maintain, which increases the price. 6. Integration with other tools Connecting your email platform with CRMs, Ecommerce tools, or analytics systems can drive up costs, especially if platforms charge extra for native integrations or require third-party connectors. Before signing up, ask yourself: how many of these tools are truly essential? Can any be replaced with ones that integrate more easily? A cluttered tech stack not only costs more but also complicates your workflows.   Top Features to Look For in a Drip Email Marketing Software Since you’re on the lookout for a drip email marketing software platform, focus on the features we’ve mentioned below. Core features that drip email software absolutely needs These features are the must-haves. They are the foundational tools required to automate, personalize, and optimize your email drip campaigns at scale. Journey designer: Easily set up multi-step workflows triggered by parameters like customer actions, behaviors, or time delays with minimal coding. Behavioral targeting: Send emails based on real-time customer behavior, such as cart additions, subscriptions, app activity, and more, for highly relevant messaging. Personalization engine: Dynamically include customer attributes based on past interactions and preferences to personalize emails at scale. High inbox deliverability: Tools and practices that ensure you have a healthy sender reputation and high inbox placement. Campaign optimization with A/B testing: Test different email versions to learn what drives higher engagement and optimize your drip flows continuously. Real-time analytics and insights: Access detailed reports and dashboards that track key drip email marketing metrics like opens, clicks, and conversions, and identify drop-offs in your drip journeys. Other features that are very useful to have These features aren’t absolutely necessary to run an effective campaign, but they can improve customer experience and operational efficiency. AI-based predictive segmentation: Leverage AI to predict customer behavior like churn or likelihood of conversion, and automatically adjust campaigns accordingly. Omnichannel messaging: Integrate messaging across various channels, like push notifications, SMS, WhatsApp, and in-app messaging for a cohesive customer journey. Pre-built templates: Quickly access pre-built, customizable email templates to launch campaigns faster without heavy design work.   9 Steps to Choosing a Drip Email Marketing Software With so many options available in the market, choosing the right drip email marketing software can seem like an uphill battle. No worries! We’ll even walk you through exactly how to evaluate and compare drip email tools for yourself. Once you’ve asked the right questions and gathered the facts during demos, it’s time to break down your decision-making process into clear, actionable steps. Step 1: Define Your Non-Negotiable Features The first step is to make a list of all the features that are necessary for you. For example, if your goal is to send behavior-triggered drip campaigns (like abandoned cart emails or re-engagement nudges), then features like behavioral targeting and multi-step customer journey automation are non-negotiable. On the other hand, if you only need basic scheduled newsletters, you might not need advanced workflow builders or AI recommendations. Once you have a list of non-negotiable features, it becomes easier to narrow down your platform choices. Step 2: Research and Compare All Viable Options Don’t just go with the most well-known or even the most affordable-looking tool. Research platforms that fit your business size and industry. Use peer reviews, comparison guides, and case studies to understand how the platform performs in real-world use cases. Also, remember that low entry pricing can be misleading. What matters is the total cost of ownership. Look for things like hidden fees, integration costs, or feature-based tier upgrades. These will add to the pricing later. Step 3: Book a Personalized Demo (and Demand Proof) When choosing your drip email marketing tool, make sure you request a personalized demo based on your business context, use cases, and workflows. A simple, generic walkthrough isn’t helpful because this is your first real glimpse into how the platform is going to support you long-term. If the demo isn’t tailored to your business, that’s a red flag—because if they can’t offer personalized attention when they’re trying to win your business, you’re unlikely to get it during onboarding or implementation. Ask to see features live, rather than just screenshots or slide decks. If a feature is critical, ask to see it in action. At times, sales teams may promise features that are still ‘in development’. Step 4: Attend the Demo with a List of Questions Once you’ve booked a demo, prepare a checklist of questions, like the one we shared above. This will help you stay focused and gain the clarity you need. Ask whether the features you care about are included in the base plan or locked behind premium tiers. Dig into pricing: will the costs scale predictably as you grow, or are there hidden fees that only show up later? Some platforms may offer attractive deals upfront but raise prices later or charge extra for essentials like API access, automation workflows, or deliverability support. The demo is your chance to surface all of this before signing anything. Step 5: Evaluate Ease of Use The drip email software you choose must be easy to use. Since marketers with little to no technical knowledge are most likely to use the platform, look for solutions that allow you to build email campaigns, segment audiences, and personalize messages easily. Say no to complicated or clunky interfaces that are not intuitive and require a steep learning curve. Step 6: Check for Advanced Capabilities Ask about AI features like predictive segmentation or email send-time optimization. Even if you don’t need them right now, having future-ready capabilities ensures you won’t outgrow the tool too soon. Step 7: Test for Scalability and Deliverability This is an important one. Look for solutions that can handle large volumes of emails with good email deliverability rates. Make sure the software you choose has a high inbox placement rate. Check if they have a solid infrastructure and dedicated IPs, should you need them. Also, consider scalability: will this platform still meet your needs when your contact list grows from 10,000 to 100,000? Make sure you’re not locked into expensive pricing jumps or performance bottlenecks. Step 8: Review Integration Options Make sure the tool you choose fits seamlessly into your existing workflow. It should integrate with your CRM, mobile app, Ecommerce system, and anything else in your ecosystem. Even if it doesn’t directly integrate, ensure that it offers flexible APIs and webhooks, or supports third-party connectors like Zapier, so you can still automate data flow without manual workarounds. Step 9: Compare Customer Support Quality Good software with bad support can be a nightmare. Check for onboarding help, technical support, availability, account management, and resources. Ask about how quickly the support team responds and resolves software issues to ensure that you have minimal downtime.   5 Best Email Drip Campaign Software and Tools It’s time to weigh your options in choosing an email drip campaign software for your business. Give this list a quick read! 1. MoEngage: Best for Omnichannel Engagement and Behavioral Targeting   MoEngage is a comprehensive customer engagement platform designed to deliver personalized and automated drip email campaigns at scale. Its powerful AI capabilities allow you to use behavioral targeting to reach customers at the right time with the right message at different stages of their customer journey. Why MoEngage is Best for Omnichannel Engagement and Behavioral Targeting: MoEngage offers multiple features that allow you to provide cohesive customer experiences across various touchpoints. You can reach out to customers via not just email, but also SMS, push notifications, in-app messages, and even ad networks without missing a beat. Features like advanced segmentation enable you to send hyper-personalized drip email campaigns tailored to individual customer actions, such as cart abandonment or inactivity. This ensures that messages are timely, relevant, and effective in driving engagement. How Pricing Works: MoEngage offers flexible drip email pricing based on the scale of your business and the exact features you’d need. You can always reach out to their sales team to learn more about their custom pricing plans. How to Set Up a Demo: To experience MoEngage firsthand, you need to book a demo first. Their team will then contact you to schedule a personalized walkthrough that showcases how the platform can meet your specific drip email marketing goals. 2. ActiveCampaign: Best for Email and Marketing Automation ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that allows you to create email campaigns on channels your customers connect with. The platform offers predictive content features that help you show customers the most meaningful content. Why ActiveCampaign is Best for Email and Marketing Automation: ActiveCampaign excels in delivering sophisticated automation campaign workflows that can be tailored to various customer journeys. How Pricing Works: ActiveCampaign offers a four-tiered drip email pricing plan. The basic plan starts at $15/month for 1K contacts, while the Enterprise plan starts at $1,169/month for 50K contacts. If you have contacts upwards of that number, you need to talk to their sales team. 3. Kit: Best for Creators Using Emails Kit is tailored for creators, bloggers, and solo entrepreneurs who want to send customer relationship emails. It offers a user-friendly interface with powerful automation capabilities. Why Kit is Best for Creators and Solo Entrepreneurs: Kit’s email-first operating system allows creators to build long-term connections with customers. Its intuitive email designer can be used to create effective on-brand emails that are optimized for deliverability. Plus, it allows you to send email broadcasts for announcing product launches, sharing content updates, or promoting limited-time offers to your entire list in bulk. How Pricing Works: Kit offers a free Newsletter plan with basic features like visual automation, opt-in forms, and email broadcasts to up to 10K subscribers. But you can implement just 1 visual automation and an email sequence on the free plan. Advanced plans start at $25 per month for up to 1K subscribers, and go up to $2,166/month for 400K contacts. 4. Drip: Best for Ecommerce Marketing Automation Drip is a marketing automation platform designed specifically for Ecommerce brands. It offers tools to create personalized email campaigns that drive customer engagement and sales. Why Drip is Best for Ecommerce Marketing Automation: Drip provides deep integrations with Ecommerce platforms, allowing businesses to leverage customer data for targeted campaigns. Features like behavior-based automation and pre-built workflows help in crafting effective drip campaigns. How Pricing Works: Drip’s pricing starts at $39/month for up to 2,500 contacts. The cost scales up to $1,999/month based on the number of contacts, with custom pricing available for larger lists of over 180K subscribers. 5. Mailmodo: Best for Interactive Email Marketing Mailmodo is an email marketing platform that enables the creation of interactive drip emails using AMP technology. This allows recipients to take actions like filling out forms or booking appointments directly within the email. Why Mailmodo is Best for Interactive Email Marketing: Mailmodo stands out by offering interactive email capabilities that enhance customer engagement and conversion rates. Its drag-and-drop editor simplifies the creation of dynamic emails without any coding required. How Pricing Works: Like the other drip email marketing software on this list, Mailmodo’s pricing is based on the number of contacts and emails sent per month. Its three-tiered pricing model starts at $39/month for 500 contacts, going up to $939/month for 250K subscribers. Any more contacts, and you have to reach out to their sales team.   How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Drip Email Software Here are some of the ways in which you can leverage your drip email software to its maximum potential. Save time through automation: Automate welcome emails, follow-ups, and re-engagement campaigns to free up your team for more strategic work. Boost engagement with timely messaging: Set up triggers so that emails are automatically sent based on customers’ actions. This keeps your audience interested at every stage of their customer journey. Drive higher conversions with targeted sequences: Send the right email at the right time to move leads through the sales funnel towards a conversion. Personalize customer experiences at scale: Use segmentation and dynamic content to create a personalized customer experience without manually customizing every email. Continuously optimize with data-driven insights: Track performance metrics like open rates and conversions to refine your drip email campaigns and maximize results over time.   Maximize Engagement With MoEngage’s Drip Email Marketing Software To sum it up, drip email marketing can be quite powerful for engaging customers at different stages of their journey. Having the right drip email software in your tech stack ensures smooth, efficient workflows. Your team can focus on higher-value tasks while automating routine processes. It also ensures that your drip emails always reach the right person with the right message at the perfect time. MoEngage’s powerful email automation platform allows you to automate personalized campaigns that drive higher engagement and conversions. With advanced segmentation, behavior-triggered messaging, and seamless integration with your ecosystem, you can nurture relationships more effectively than ever. Curious to see how MoEngage can elevate your campaigns? Schedule a discovery call today. The post Drip Email Software: The Ultimate Pricing and Buying Guide appeared first on MoEngage.