Naga Lalitha has become visible as someone who is changing the face of technology for industry verticals like supply chain and manufacturing.

For organisations, value creation and preservation are key to avoid destruction

Reducing complexity and friction between members is important

Handling the organisation’s ‘resources’ in a ‘humane’ manner is the way forward for HR

The revival of agricultural growth from its long-term slump requires imaginative policy shifts and decisive fiscal measures, but the Budget provides no indications of such a plan or intent

The country is among those most vulnerable to water management risks, and has the poorest access to basic services, including water, among G-20 economies, the rating major flagged

At some point in their career, every designer has heard the request to make an element "pop more". The premise is simple: to draw attention to a particular element in a layout, make it stand out. However, in practice, the opposite effect often occurs.

Consider the overlaid promotions, tips, or call-outs typically found in an interface. To get these elements noticed, designers will apply contrasting colors, shapes, fonts, and more. All in an attempt to make things pop. But if a pop-up or any element of a user interface for that matter looks too different from the rest of the design, people will often perceive it as something that doesn't belong (like an ad) and dismiss it.

"
We see overlay avoidance consistently in the research we conduct with mobile users. Especially when people are task focussed. Then when they do come to use a new function they can't find the help and don't recall seeing the help previously."
-Lisa Duddington 
Co-founder, Keep It Usable

As Lisa points out, when people are task-focused, they ignore and quickly dismiss overlays assuming they aren’t there to support their core flow but instead to distract from it. Some of these dismissals may even be accidental. That is, people just get rid of dialog-like things by instinct and without thinking.

"We saw this all the time at Facebook. People very often, instinctively, dismiss tooltips. On occasion even accidentally. By the time they realize the message may have been helpful, it's already gone and there's no way to recover it."
-
Tanner Christensen 
Product Designer, Facebook

In cases where the overall actually had useful information, when its gone so is the useful information. And there's usually no way to get it back. Probably not the intended effect of making an overlay more noticeable through design.

On the other hand, if the pop-up looks like an integrated part of the app or website, it's much more likely to be considered and perceived as relevant. In Red Laser’s case, making the primary action button huge and red led to users completely ignoring it. In subsequent redesigns, they toned down the shape and added a label, making it feel more like part of the core navigation. They even dropped the different color.

"We made our ‘scan’ button huge and a different color from the rest of the nav menu and users entirely ignored it."
-Miles Skorpen, Head of Business Development, Red Laser

As these examples illustrate, instead of making elements visually distinct to be noticed, designers should focus on integrating important elements seamlessly into the user interface. This ensures that crucial actions and information are perceived as part of the overall user experience, rather than distractions to be dismissed.

In his Is Atomic Design Dead? presentation at Smashing Conf New York, Brad Frost discussed the history of design systems and today's situation especially in light of very capable AI models than can generate code and designs. Here's my notes on his talk.

• Websites started as HTML and CSS. People began to design websites in Photoshop and as the number of Web sites and apps increased, the need for managing a brand and style across multiple platforms became clear. To manage this people turned to frameworks and component libraries which resulted in more frameworks and tools that eventually got integrated into design tools like Figma. It's been an ongoing expansion...
• There's been lots of change over the years but at the highest level, we have design systems and products that use them to enforce brand, consistency, accessibility, and more.
• Compliance to design systems pushes from one side and product needs push from the other. There needs to be a balance but currently the gap between the two is growing. A good balance is achieved through a virtuous cycle between product and systems.
• The atomic design system tried to intentionally define use of atoms, molecules, organisms, templates, and pages to bridge the gap between the end state of a product and a design system.
• As an industry, we went too far in resourcing design systems and making them a standalone thing within a company. They've been isolated.
• Design system makers can't be insular. They need to reach out to product teams and work with them. They need to be helping product teams achieve their goals.
• What if there were one global design system with common reusable components? Isn't that what HTML is for? Yes, but it's insufficient because we're still rebuilding date pickers everywhere.
• Open UI tracks popular design systems and what's in them. It's a start to seeing what global component needs for the Web could look like.
• Many pattern libraries ship with an aesthetic and people need to tweak it. A global design system should be very vanilla so you can style it as much as you want.
• The Web still has an amazing scale of communication and collaboration. We need to rekindle the ideas of the early Web. We need to share and build together to get to a common freely usable design system.
• AI models can help facilitate design system work. Today they do an OK job but in the future, fine-tuned models may create custom components on the fly. They can also translate between one design system and another or translate across programming languages.
• This methodology could help companies translate existing and legacy code to new modern design systems. Likewise sketches or mockups could be quickly translated directly to design system components thereby speeding up processes.
• Combining design system specifications with large language models allows you to steer AI generations more directly toward the right kind of code and components.
• When product experiences are more dynamic (can be built on the fly), can we adapt them to individual preferences and needs? Like custom styles or interactions.
• AI is now part of our design system toolkit and design systems are part of our AI toolkit.
• But the rapid onset of AI also raises higher level questions about what designers and developers should be doing in the future? We're more than rectangle creators. We think and feel which differentiates us from just production level tasks. Use your brains, your intuition, and whole self to solve real problems.

Up, close and personal with Masaba Gupta on wedding outfits and life choices

If you love great design and architecture, Finland’s capital is right up your alley

Lynnfield, Massachusetts CAST [2024]

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2010]

México : Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, 1979.

Alissa Walker took to the stage during a session of Wired 2012 entitled "The future of the city" to share the passion she has for her namesake activity: walking.

Executive Chairman of Signal Technology Foundation Brian Acton spoke with WIRED's Steven Levy as part of WIRED25, WIRED's second annual conference.

BRANDED CONTENT | Produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Porsche | Want to see the fastest ride in the galaxy? Meet the Tri-Wing S-91X Pegasus, the newest starfighter in the Star Wars universe. Watch as designers from Porsche and LucasFilm race the clock to bring together two iconic brands and create this one-of-a-kind vehicle. See Star Wars: #TheRiseofSkywalker December 20.

Dr. Celia Hodent, Drew Blackard, and Irene Au joined the WIRED25 event to discuss how cognitive science, UX research, and dark patterns play into video game design.

David Fincher wanted to recall the look and feel of movies from the 1930s, but in a subtle way. For the sound design, that meant finding a range of characteristics that would remind the audience of old-fashioned sound.

Artist and stage designer Es Devlin has created stage sculptures for Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, the WEEKND and U2 and now at WIRED Live, she discusses her approach to creativity; AI as a creative tool; and the future of live experiences. "The practice has changed beyond recognition."

Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, defines architecture as the art and science of making cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives. At WIRED Live 2020, he explains the importance of sustainability in architecture and design. "Sustainable buildings are not only better for the environment, but for the lives of the people living in them."

Produced by WIRED Brand Lab with Dropbox | Illustrator and designer Sophia Chang talks about her mission to empower women within sneaker culture and using Dropbox to collaborate.

The stunts we love to watch in movies like 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' usually rely on a combination of green screen, stunt performers, and computer-generated models. Stunts like these can be dangerous, especially when performed live...over and over. At the new Avengers Campus at Disneyland Resorts, radical stunts are being performed everyday by a robotic acrobat. Disney Imagineers Tony Dohi and Morgan Pope sit down with WIRED to talk about how they designed this amazing stuntronic robot.

In 'Dune,' inhabitants of the desert planet wear full-body stillsuits for their survival. These stillsuits capture moisture and recycle it into drinking water. Jacqueline West and Bob Morgan, costume designers on 'Dune,' explain how they approached designing the suits for the film.

James Dyson answers the internet's burning questions about design and inventions. How does Dyson's bladeless fan work? What do you do if you have an invention idea? Why are hand dryers so loud? How does suction work? James answers all these questions and much more!

Claire Weisz, founder of W X Y + architecture + urban design, walks us through three different street redesigns that her team has done in New York City. Claire explains why they made the changes they made, and what ultimately makes for a "better" street.

A robotic diving system that looks like a Transformer? OceanOneK can go to depths that would kill a human diver. It can also handle delicate objects without breaking them. Using a haptic system, humans can use OceanOneK as an avatar, allowing humans to dive in areas we never previously could. WIRED spoke with Professor Oussama Khatib to understand how he and his team designed, built and tested this robotic diver.

Kagen Sound is an artisan of remarkable skill, engineering and constructing incredibly intricate puzzle boxes made entirely of wood. WIRED brings you inside his workshop as he breaks down the design process behind his wonderful creations, and the woodworking skill he leverages to make everything snap together perfectly.

Former Chief Urban Designer of The City of New York Alexandros Washburn joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about city planning. How does the New York City Subway compare to others worldwide? What are the pros and cons of rent control initiatives? Which city can lay claim to being "smartest" in the world? Or has the best airport? What challenges will the urban designers of tomorrow need to meet? Alexandros Washburn answers these questions and many more on City Planning Support.

Former Chief Urban Designer of The City of New York Alex Washburn returns to WIRED to answer another round of the internet's burning questions about city planning. How should cities accommodate electric bikes? Can urban planning mitigate over-gentrification? How can urban planning prevent crimes? What does the future of public transportation in urban centers look like? Can a city ever reach population capacity? How's it possible for a city to run out of water? Alex Washburn answers these questions and many more on City Planning Support, Vol. 2. Director: Justin Wolfson Director of Photography: Constantine Economides Editor: Richard Trammell Expert: Alex Washburn Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi Associate Producer: Brandon White Production Manager: Peter Brunette Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer Camera Operator: Christopher Eustache Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen Production Assistant: Kalia Simms Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen Additional Editor: Jason Malizia Assistant Editor: Billy Ward

Brands typically march into March with women’s day campaigns and we have already seen a few get off to an early start on the theme of “inspiring inclusion”

It’s IPL season and the volume of ads has gone up. It also means CRED is back with its signature disruptive ads. It’s also poll season and there is fair buzz around political ads.

Driving the Four Ps: VML India’s new chief Babita Baruah has spent the first month observing, learning and actioning the agency’s new remit

The start of the financial year has seen brands get off to a great start with several good campaigns flooding the screens. Some of these, like Ariel, are annual iterations — a nice touch, for it shows continuity of thought and messaging.

The advent of summer has seen brands at their light-hearted best. Quirky scenarios and humorous dialogues are being used to deliver summer laughs and the brand message. 

Millions of ads have been made portraying mothers recommending everything from tea to detergent. So it’s hardly surprising that on Mother’s Day, advertisers are scripting beautiful campaigns effusively celebrating the day.

This fortnight a print ad overshadowed all the TVCs, becoming the talk of the town. As IPL draws to a close, cricket continued to be a big theme.

Coimbatore’s legendary Annapoorna Hotel can teach marketers a lesson or two

As ad folk networked alongside the azure blue Mediterranean sea in Cannes Lions 2024, the talk that dominated the festival of creativity this year was all about AI, Olympics and the role of humour in ads

Day marketing dominated the ads of last fortnight with Father’s Day eliciting a rush of campaigns. Pride Month and World Music Day came in for brand love too.

It was a dull fortnight for ad commercials — perhaps due to the confusion created by the new self-declaration certification norms. Some works of new brands, however, caught the eye.

A noticeable trend this fortnight was the growing number of brand campaigns created by independent agencies outside the networks or films created in-house by companies.

Brands are chasing their own pot of gold at the Olympics, piggybacking on athletes and unleashing campaigns that highlight their grit and determination

The monsoon is still active across India, and equally it has rained campaigns. After a brief dry spell, brands have found their muse in Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan campaigns.

This fortnight has been marked by two films with standout storytelling that tug your heartstrings. Brands are also gearing up for festive times ahead with bold campaigns.