Category Archives: Design

Picturehouse Acquires ‘The King of Color,’ Documentary on Pantone Creator Lawrence Herbert

Posted on by

picturehousePicturehouse has acquired all North American distribution rights to The King of Color, a new documentary from director Patrick Creadon (Wordplay, Hesburgh) that explores the life and legacy of Lawrence Herbert, the creator of the Pantone Matching System. The film will premiere October 24 at AFI Fest before opening in limited theatrical release on December 12.

At 96, Herbert remains one of the most influential yet underrecognized figures in modern design. His invention of the Pantone Matching System (PMS) transformed the way artists, manufacturers, and brands communicate color across industries worldwide. The film features an in-depth interview with Herbert, offering a rare look into the mind that standardized color itself.

“Pantone is a language that connects artists, designers, and brands across the globe,” said Bob Berney, CEO of Picturehouse. “We’re proud to bring The King of Color to audiences everywhere and to honor Larry Herbert’s legacy of innovation and influence. Patrick Creadon has crafted a film that is as vibrant and inspiring as its subject.”

Creadon, best known for his acclaimed documentary Wordplay (a Sundance breakout), is known for illuminating the creative forces behind seemingly everyday phenomena. His directing credits also include If You Build It, ESPN’s 30 for 30: Catholics vs. Convicts, Hesburgh, and Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story.

The King of Color traces Herbert’s journey from Depression-era Brooklyn to global innovation, spotlighting how one man’s vision turned color from a subjective art into a universal language that bridges creativity and commerce.

Share

Cyber Monday Hits Record $13.3 Billion in Online Spending with Majority of Sales Driven by Mobile

Posted on by

adobeToday, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) released online shopping data for the 2024 holiday season covering Cyber Week, the five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Based on Adobe Analytics data, the report provides the most comprehensive view into U.S. e-commerce by analyzing commerce transactions online, covering over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories. Adobe Analytics is relied upon by the majority of the top 100 internet retailers in the U.S.* to deliver, measure and personalize shopping experiences online.

Consumers spent a total of $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday, up 7.3% YoY, and surpassing Adobe’s initial projection of $13.2 billion. In the peak hours of 8 pm to 10 pm, consumers spent $15.8 million every minute. Cyber Monday remains the biggest online shopping day of all time, as shoppers took advantage of bigger-than-expected discounts in categories such as electronics (peaking at 30.1% off listed price), toys (26.1%), apparel (23.2%), televisions (21.8%), and computers (21.5%).

Cyber Week (the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) brought in $41.1 billion online overall, up 8.2% YoY. It was bolstered by record spending online during Thanksgiving ($6.1 billion, up 8.8% YoY), Black Friday ($10.8 billion, up 10.2% YoY) and over the weekend of Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 ($10.9 billion, up 5.8% YoY). Adobe expects the full holiday season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024) to hit $240.8 billion, up 8.4% YoY.

Deals are expected to linger in the weeks ahead. After Cyber Week, discounts will come down from their peaks, but shoppers can still find good bargains through December 2024 in computers (peaking at 18% off listed price), toys (18%), electronics (17%), televisions (17%), apparel (17%), sporting goods (16%), and appliances (14%).

“While Cyber Monday remained the season’s and year’s biggest online shopping day, year-over-year growth was stronger on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “Early discounts were strong enough that many consumers felt comfortable hitting the buy button earlier on during Cyber Week, with Cyber Monday becoming ‘last call’ for shoppers to take advantage of big holiday deals.”

Share

Poster And Trailer For Mystery drama “Midnight Taxi”

Posted on by

midnight-taxiDriving a Black Cab night after night is a quiet and simple life for Eddie Carter, but when Eddie’s daytime sleep schedule is disturbed by construction work next door, he finds his nighttime shifts requiring more coffee and exhaustion setting in. After pulling over for a break one night, he awakens to a terrifying situation: ahead of his cab is the body of a murdered woman.

After this gruesome discovery and reporting it to the police, Eddie tries to move on by the sight and his tiredness haunts him. The following night he awakens from a dream of the murder scene to find that he has started sleepwalking again, a condition he suffered from as a child. Panic creeps in as he realises that there is a chance he may have been involved in the woman’s murder.

In an effort to clear his conscience, Eddie starts to quietly investigate the murder on his own. With the help of frequent customer, investigative journalist Adam Blomfield, and high-end escort Karli as a window into the underground world of London’s sex industry, Eddie soon finds himself immersed in the murky depths of a city he’s been blindly driving through for years.

MIDNIGHT TAXI is written and directed by Bertie and Samantha Speirs. Cinematography and editing by Bertie Speirs. Composed by Jake Bradford-Sharp. A Little Nipper Production.

Share

Adobe Winds Down XD: No Future Development Planned

Posted on by

adobe-xdBy Armando

While Adobe hasn’t issued a formal press release announcing the end of Adobe XD, its recent actions and lack of future plans make the direction clear: XD’s development is over.

In mid-January 2024, Adobe updated its official support page, stating: “We’re not investing in ongoing development or shipping new features within the product. We will continue to support existing customers by addressing bugs and updating any security or privacy needs.” Around the same time, following the collapse of the Figma deal in December 2023, Adobe also told The Verge: “We have no plans to further invest in XD.”

Together, these updates confirm that Adobe XD is now in maintenance mode, with new feature development effectively paused.

Launched in 2016, Adobe XD was Adobe’s answer to Sketch and later Figma — a dedicated tool for wireframing and prototyping. It gained some traction with Creative Cloud users, but lost ground as Figma’s real-time, browser-based platform became the industry standard. The collapse of Adobe’s $20B Figma deal in December 2023 only underscored the shift: XD is no longer part of Adobe’s future.

XD is still available through the Creative Cloud All Apps plan, but it’s no longer sold standalone, and no new features are expected.

For many designers, the writing has been on the wall for some time. The tool isn’t gone yet, but it’s no longer moving forward.

Armando Inquig

Share