Kindred Studio - Monthly Roundup

May 2026

A round-up of what I made, watched, read, listened to and noticed this month. (Edit this intro in Mailchimp before sending.)

From the studio

AI Is Over-Delivering. That's the Problem.

AI can generate a Hollywood action scene from a sentence — all spectacle, no story. That feels like generosity. It's actually the oldest trap in design: mistaking more for better. The job was never adding. It...

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Watching

Prepare for the AI Token Rug Pull

Kiraa

Elder - Merged in Dreams - Live @ Palp Festival 2023 - 4K

More Fuzz

The Morse Code Hack That Made an AI Agent Spend $200,000

Dave's Garage

The Insane Scale of Tokyo’s Disaster Megaplan

The B1M

Michael Burry Just Loaded Up on 4 Stocks

Investor Weekly

Apple Just Positioned Itself for the Next Trillion Dollars

AI News & Strategy Daily | Nate B Jones

Reading

The Eames Office brings a modular architecture system to life at Milan Design Week

COOL HUNTING® · Josh Rubin

The Eames Office unveiled an ambitious architectural initiative at Milan Design Week 2026, debuting the Eames Pavilion System developed with Kettal. The exhibition showcases eight never-before-seen residential models alongside a Phaidon sourcebook...

Uncommon's mouldy identity for Offf Barcelona is grown from biological traces of creatives

It's Nice That · Paul Moore

Creative studio Uncommon partnered with Offf Barcelona on a 2026 festival campaign called 'Cultured', framing creativity as a living system. The identity was literally built from biological traces collected from creative community...

4Creative cuts out visuals from the UK's most iconic TV shows to make its new identity

It's Nice That · Ellis Tree

4Creative has unveiled a bold rebrand featuring over 130 unique logo designs created by team members, each pairing the Channel 4 logo with a distinctive C. The visual system pulls playful iconography...

Penguin reveals 2026 Cover Design Award winners

Creative Review · Adam Woodward

Students and emerging creatives reimagine classic fantasy novels Night Watch and A Wrinkle in Time, with judges from Penguin, Puffin and the Pratchett literary estate handing out top honours across the adult...

Addison Copas doesn't want "freedom" – he thrives under the limitations in his wordmarks and brand identities

It's Nice That · Paul Moore

Virginia-based graphic designer Addison Copas embraces creative constraints in his practice, favouring technique-focused typography and hand-drawn methods over conceptual freedom. His work draws on classical letterforms and the disciplined traditions of type...

Benjamin Tuttle spent years designing for a Brooklyn microcinema – it all led him to Netflix's Beef

It's Nice That · Arman Khan

The typeface and graphic designer breaks down his process and historical reference points — from 18th-century punchcutters to Dutch Renaissance painting — for the second season titles of A24's hit show, after...

This redesign of Stokes Coffee is a masterclass in 'change everything, but don't change a thing'

Creative Boom · Tom May

Eat Marketing's rebrand of the 124-year-old Stokes Coffee company modernises the identity while preserving its heritage. The design centres on illustrated character figures rendered in coral-red lines and introduces contemporary typography, balancing...