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Miklu Silvanto, Ouras chief design officer, says incorporating advanced computing power into a tiny ring is a major challenge. It’s just as challenging to make a ring that people will actually want to wear around the clock. So Silvanto, an industrial design veteran who has worked at Apple and Bang & Olufsen, must also think of himself as a jewelry designer. “A ring is such an intimate object,” he says. “You might wear it alongside your wedding ring. You need to think comfort, and beauty, and fashion.” On October 1, Oura launches a new collection of ceramic rings that are more fashion-forward than its previous ones, which resemble metallic wedding bands. Since ceramic takes well to color, the new rings come in an array of hues, including petal pink, tide green, cloud white, and midnight blue. The company has also developed a new charging system that will allow wearers to switch between rings seamlessly, without losing any data. [Image: Oura] These new rings cost $499, while the metallic versions are priced between $350 and $500 depending on the finish. Users must also pay $70 annually to use the app that presents their health data, analysis, and advice. Given how expensive this product is, the idea of switching rings based on your outfit of the day may be an affordable reality to only a small, wealthy slice of the population, epitomized by some of the most famous Oura wearersMark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian, Prince Harry, and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few. Still, the rings are resonating with consumers around the world. Oura sold 2.5 million rings last year, making up half of its total sales since 2015. And the company expects to generate $1 billion in sales this year, making it one of the biggest players in the wearable technology industry. After its $825 million Series E round, its now valued at $11 billion. [Photo: Oura] The Tiniest Computer For a designer like Silvanto, working on a smart ring involves incorporating as much technology as possible into the tiniest of products. When Oura launched a decade ago as a Kickstarter project, its first ring was much chunkier and could monitor only sleep and daily activity. [Image: Oura] Since then, the Oura’s designers have managed to make the ring smaller. Both the metal rings and the new ceramic ones are roughly 8 millimeters wide, 2 millimeters thick, and weigh between 5 and 8 grams depending on the size. And the rings are able to track around 50 biometrics. To do this, they use several sensors, including an infrared LED that measures blood oxygen levels, green and infrared PPG (photoplethysmogram) sensors that track heart rate, a digital thermometer that measures body temperature, and a sensitive accelerometer that tracks movement. Oura has benefited from broader changes in the technology industry that has been working toward miniaturization. (This is similar to what has been happening at, say, Dyson, which is incorporating more and more powerful motors into smaller hairdryers and vacuums.) [Photo: Oura] Silvanto says Oura has focused on incorporating this tech into a design that is as comfortable and beautiful as possible. The new rings are made from zirconia ceramic, which is significantly harder and more durable than the ceramic used for vases and dishware. The rings are shaped and then fired in a kiln, which chemically transforms them into the harder material. (In fact, it is so hard that it can scuff softer metals.) Silvanto stresses the appeal of the materials ability to take on colors. The four hues in the new collection are glossy and vibrant. If Oura’s metallic rings look like simple wedding bands, these ceramic rings evoke the color of gemstones. It’s jewelry that allows users to express their tastes and aesthetic preferences. [Photo: Oura] Oura ring as fashion object Now that Oura is framing its rings as fashion objects, it wanted to ensure users were able to easily swap them on a daily basis to go with their various styles or moods. Silvanto says creating a system that would allow users to change rings while keeping all their data intact wasn’t simple. Data is stored in the ring itself, in the app, and in the cloud. “When a user switches between rings, all of this data needs to be synchronized to ensure that the tracking would be accurate,” he says. (This new data-synching capability is live on iOS apps today and will be available on Android starting October 10.) While the new ceramic designs are a significant launch for Oura, Silvanto says his team is already focused on dreaming up the companys next-gen rings. As sensor technology continues to shrink, rings will become even thinner. And the team will continue to work on making them as stylish and fashin-forward as possible. “The best ring is one that people actually want to wear,” Silvanto says. “And to do that, you need to think beyond technology and about culture.”
Category:
E-Commerce
TikTok has been abuzz with the workplace trend task-maskingthat is, making yourself look busy so that your boss thinks youre hard at work. Cue behaviors like pounding hard on the keyboard, always keeping your status to active, or walking around the office with your laptop and looking like you have somewhere to be when you dont. Its all show. Its all performance, one TikTok user posted. They could be typing a thousand words a minute, but really be typing nothing, posted another. Some argue that its backlash against return-to-office policies: Many of these employees, especially Gen Z, feel like their presence doesnt equal productivity, a TikTok user said. And crucially, its not just about laziness, wrote another, arguing the pressure to look busy could actually be a sign of overwhelm. The term has come to be associated with Gen Z on social media, but in reality, the act (and art) of looking busy has been around for decades. Task-masking is the digital equivalent of shuffling papers, says employee coach and attorney Theresa DAndrea, known as That Work Girl, whos also discussed the trend on TikTok. Its an employer’s market right now to get a job, so people feel like they have to be busier than usual in order to keep their jobs. Nearly half (48%) of managers are concerned about employees who fake their productivity on the joband not without reason. That’s because 37% of managers and 32% of non-managers themselves admit to such fauxductivity, or trying to appear busy even when theyre not, according to a 2024 survey of 3,000 full-time employees in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland by Workhuman, an HR software company. Thats not good for employeesor companies. Such pressure to look busy can lead to burnout and inefficiencies, DAndrea says. Rampant task-masking may be a sign of workflow or cultural issues that management needs to address. And it may be an act of defiance for some, but a scrambling to prove worth for others. If youre feeling the pressure to look busy to show your boss how important you are, try these tactics instead of pretending to answer emails during the next all-hands meeting. Get clear about whats important, and prioritize ZipRecruiter career expert Sam DeMase says that in order for employees to truly add value, they need to understand the metrics used for success by both their supervisors and the company. You just need to focus on doing work that actually moves the needle, she says. DeMase suggests asking your boss questions to get clarity: How is success defined for this project? How does this project serve the companys goals for 2025? Know your core strengths and communicate those. DAndrea agrees. Instead of responding to every text, email, and communication platform notification immediately in an attempt to look busy, focus on what matters. Thats especially true after youve gotten a sense of what your boss and the organization value. Maybe even help your boss put together a KPI [key performance indicators] dashboard to track the performance of the team if your boss doesn’t already have something like that, says Korn Ferry senior client partner Maria Amato. I would be delighted if someone on my team did that. Keep learning Instead of tackling a task just for the sake of crossing it off the to-do list, keep learning where you can, says workplace culture expert Marissa Andrada. Work on understanding more about the company and its culture and values. If you get the context of how the work that you’re doing fits in [to the team and values]why it’s importantthen you can show, Here’s what I think about it, she says. Not only does this give you a better perspective on the work youre doing, but it can also help frame your work as more essential to your team (and boss). Its making your manager be successful by delivering on time and on point, she adds. It replaces the performative busywork of task-masking with strategic thinking that demonstrates real value. Taking on stretch roles or additional projects can help you keep learning, too. However, Amato cautions that its important to understand the culture of your company and the nature of your supervisor: Dont make it seem like you are trying to get away or are not interested in what you’re currently doingnot wanting to pay your dues, for example, in your current role. Document your wins DeMase suggests keeping a weekly log of your progress and wins, such as meaningful contributions to meetings, goal completion, positive feedback, project milestones, and processes you improve along the way. She adds that documenting your successes can also keep you motivated in your job. Amato says what you do with that information depends, again, on the culture of your organization and team. You might tell your supervisor that youve collected some data on your performance, and ask whether they would like you to share the information with them. Your boss may say, Oh, I would love to see that as it comes in. Just send it to me each and every time. But if they haven’t actually asked for [the info], it could be sort of like spamming your boss, she adds. We need to move away from busyness bringing value, DAndrea says. By getting more clarity about your role, reconnecting with your works meaning, and documenting your wins, you can add value and get more satisfaction. Those are payoffs that marching around the office with an open laptop simply cant deliver.
Category:
E-Commerce
A few years into the AI boom, its clear that designers can rely on AI for some things. It can automate tedious tasks in Photoshop that once took up precious time. It can generate images on command (quality be damned!). It can schedule a meeting, respond to an email, and take notes on a Zoom call. But for all the hype, we know that AI isnt a silver bullet for the real problems creatives face. Far from it. So we wondered: When it comes to design and creative work, in a blue-sky scenario, what do todays design leaders wish AI would actually take care of for them? We asked nine great designers that very question, and got back some interesting answers. Their answers, seen below, reveal more than productivity hacks. They are a prism into the pain points of a modern design practice, and a view of how some of the best minds in design are thinking about AI. Pum Lefebure, cofounder and chief creative officer, Design Army 1. Dream Harvester: An AI that records my dreams and subconscious visions while I sleep, then turns them into usable moodboards, storyboards, or campaign concepts the next morning. 2. Taste DNA Engine: AI that learns your creative fingerprint so deeply it can filter endless options, then only show ideas that match your intuitionlike your own inner taste amplified. 3. Multidimensional Story Weaver: You give it one idea and AI spins it simultaneously into a film, song, sculpture, VR world, fragrance, and fashion lineall cohesive, all connected. [Source Images: Westend61/Getty Images, Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images, Stefan Grau/Getty Images, Photobank2/Getty Images, PromesaArtStudio/iStock/Getty Images Plus] Sara Vienna, chief design officer, Metalab Everyone says they want AI to take away the busywork, and of course I agree. But I want to push it further. I wish AI could act less like a task runner and more like a thought partnera thought partner that I actually trust with context and nuance. Point out the edge cases, flag accessibility issues without watering everything down, remind me when Im stretching myself too thin, even help me recognize the milestones that matter in the lives of people around me. Because we’re living in a sea of sameness where anyone can vibe code and ship something, the quality bar is so low. But is it good? Is it new? Does it deserve to exist? Thats the gap I want AI to help close, not just speed up production, but raise the bar on quality and meaning. Jessica Walsh, CEO, founder and creative director, &Walsh Join meetings for me? I know thats not great to say, but I find that when I’m in meetings all day, it takes a toll on my creativity . . . yet I know how important it is to be present for our clients. The more obvious answerhandling all the financial aspects of the business, like accounting, invoicing, forecasting, etc. For any creative agency owner, it can be a huge creative time suck to constantly think about. I also think there could be a much better system for archiving our work and project learnings so that anyone who touches those projects in the future has access to them in a really easy-to-understand way. After leading an agency for more than 15 years with a ton of repeat clients, were always looking to optimize this, and I think AI could integrate here in some really exciting ways Aaron Draplin, owner, Draplin Design Co. I will say it’s already doing exactly what I would have really ever hoped and dreamed that it would ever do, which is just that generative fill thing in Adobe. The idea that if I have a vertical image that’s given to me and I have to make it into a square, I can just do a couple clicks for that generative fillit’s not crossing an ethical line at that point. It’s just filling in dead space. That’s amazing, because I would have had to do that myself through trickery and fades and gradients and bullshits and things and stuff. Now that thing can go do it that quick. Gui Seiz, director of design, Figma My biggest wish for AI is to hold on to context and intent the same way a good collaborator does. I want to see AI shift from a productivity hack to a genuine thought partner in the creative process. It should track the intent behind decisions, suggest course corrections when I veer off track, and help me stay in flow. The goal isnt just to work faster, its to work with clarity and help designers navigate the messy parts of the process: the ambiguity, the feedback loops, the gap between rough sketch and refined product. Where it gets interesting is when AI really remembers your creative journey across projects, it can start connecting dots you can’t see. Maybe it surfaces a discarded approach from months ago that suddenly fits your current work, or reveals patterns in your decision-making that point toward unexplored directions. Leta Sobierajski, partner, Wade and Leta I’m hyperconscious of how utilizing AI is shortening my thought process. And while it is enjoyable to embrace cut corners and shortcuts of, say, writing an artist statement or summarizing a brief, I’m a bit terrified by its ability to think more succinctly than I do and automate the processes that have led me to become the creative person that I am today, no matter how grueling they have been. A benefit to the way I work is that my interpretations are never black or whitefollowing an artistic practice is about the meandering and the daydreaming, and with the use of AI that magic may be depleted. So, clearly I’m trying to avoid it for any high-level thiking and writing, as this dependence feels like a gradual dulling of a sharp knife. That said, I’d appreciate it more if it served me a sandwich every so often when I forget to eat, or if perhaps it could remove me from my chair when I’ve sat for too long to encourage me to go enjoy the weather instead. [Source Images: Westend61/Getty Images, Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images, Stefan Grau/Getty Images, Photobank2/Getty Images, PromesaArtStudio/iStock/Getty Images Plus] Giorgia Lupi, partner, Pentagram My blue-sky scenario would be an AI model that reduces the labor of tedious tasks, allows us to test ideas faster, but does not erase the important moments of frustration, collaboration, redirection, and happy accidents in the design process, as that is ultimately what brings the language of design to life. But I think there are important considerations to be made. First of all, when you ask about how AI can be used in the design process, you would likely get different answers from a design director than you would from a hands-on designer who might see a time-saving benefit to AI-powered visual modeling tools. And secondly, although I see value in continuing to explore what AI can do for the field, I still have open questions: Can the shortcuts made possible by AI lead to similarly valuable designs? Do these shortcuts preclude designers from important processes and experiences? Is there a way that AI can be used to eliminate tedium without necessarily informing the visual outcome? Without AI, whether you design alone or with a team, the designs detours, loose experimentation, happy accidents, and outright mistakes all lead to a unique result. As much as Ive enjoyed generative AI in the early days, lately my experience has been marked by frustration, as AI agreeably translates my requests into outcomes that feel like the result of a very different process that is neither collaborative nor solely mine, which is what I am reflecting on these days. When I think about why our clients come to us, it is to transform their stories, ideas, and brands into visual languages that people can connect with. For me, that still means finding the human element. No two designers will craft the same solution for a project, and the beauty in this is that a designers work so uniquely reflects their own perspective. I do not want the integration of AI, with its specific training and incentive to please, to result in a great flattening of design, where well-worn algorithmic decisions make everything look the same. Forest Young, executive director of design, FundamentalCo In a blue-sky scenario, a designer would never need to wait to be the recipient of a mediocre briefone that reeks with a desperate hunger for relevance. She could scrape the subreddits for unmet needs, painful experiences, and problems worth solving, for communities that she felt a kinship with, and design a solutiona brand, a product, an experience with an inspired sense of autonomy and empathy. In short, designers should not believe the hype, but instead [they should] believe in themselves. We must endure the torrent of efficiency-laden rhetoric until we reach an equilibrium, and discover a way to harness this technology to capacitize; to imagine beyond new skins of things to new things altogether. As industries furiously build on top of identical infrastructures and de facto research implications, unique expression will become a peerless signature. Self-assured designers empowered by AI will drive world-building, product visions, and MVPs, as well as unforeseen form language. Like any worthwhile growing pains, we must place a wager on who we can become beyond who we once were. [Source Images: Westend61/Getty Images, Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images, Stefan Grau/Getty Images, Photobank2/Getty Images, PromesaArtStudio/iStock/Getty Images Plus] Brian Collins, cofounder, CollinsImagine if every deck, doc, and post of yours stays on-brand. Not because you had to police them all to death, but because the brand itself is living and defending its own borders like a benevolent nightclub bouncer.If AI helps the scaffolding hold itself up, we get to spend our energy on the big swingsthe ideas, the products, the campaigns no ones ever seen beforewhile the system keeps the everyday stuff from collapsing into chaos. The dream, the way I saw it, was never to sit in front of a drafting table for three days adjusting kerning by hand. That wasnt noble. That was carpal tunnel.The dream for designers was to have a creative system that keeps running when youre asleep or sulking. To have a collaborator who has ideas faster than you can write them down, and keeps yours intact from the moment they leave your desk to the minute they appear on a screen, in a store, or in someone’s home. Charles Eames warned us, Never delegate your understanding. Fine. Dont. But now you can delegate everything else and watch it go.
Category:
E-Commerce
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