Category: Design

Exploring the Magic of Glen Keane’s Google I/O Presentation: A Masterclass in Creativity and Technology – Glen Keane’s Creative Process

If you’re passionate about creativity or a fan of Disney, Glen Keane’s Google I/O presentation is one you shouldn’t miss. Glen, the artist behind iconic characters like Ariel, Beast, and Pocahontas, reveals his creative process and how technology can amplify artistry in ways that feel both fresh and deeply authentic.

In this talk, Glen used Google’s Tilt Brush in VR to sketch and animate in real-time. Watching him bring Ariel to life in a 3D space was mesmerizing; it felt like standing right beside him as he crafted each line, each motion. The magic wasn’t just in the tech—it was in seeing how Glen, with decades of traditional animation experience, embraced a new medium to expand his storytelling. It’s a true blend of classic artistry and modern tools, showing us that creativity doesn’t get replaced by tech; it gets enriched.

Glen’s approach to character design is rooted in simplicity and emotion, starting with the heart of each character and building from there. He showed us that each sketch, each iteration, is an opportunity to explore and find meaning, not just a final product. His openness to experimenting, to seeing “mistakes” as part of the creative journey, is a reminder to keep our own work exploratory and open.

This presentation captures what’s exciting about the intersection of art and technology, where tools like VR can deepen the impact of storytelling rather than distract from it. It’s inspiring for anyone creating experiences—especially in learning and development—where meaningful stories and engagement are key.

If you haven’t seen Glen’s Google I/O talk, recommend watching. It’s a perfect example of how we can use technology to bring ideas to life in unforgettable ways.

Apple’s New Stop-Motion Mac Mini Promo is Pure Creative Magic

Apple’s latest Mac Mini promo is a fun stop-motion animation, packed with the kind of charm only stop-motion can bring. It has a handcrafted feel that’s refreshing in a world filled with digital effects, and it makes the Mac Mini seem more approachable, even fun.

Stop-motion takes real patience and creativity; each little movement is adjusted frame by frame, bringing the whole setup to life one second at a time. Apple uses this to show off the Mac Mini’s versatility and power in a playful, human way. The result? You’re not just looking at a piece of tech; you’re seeing a creative tool that’s ready to bring any idea to life.

This ad makes a clear point: the Mac Mini is here for creators. It’s inviting you to imagine, to make, and to push your creativity, no matter the scale. It’s as if Apple is saying, “Here’s a device that’s as powerful as your imagination.” And this stop-motion style just hits differently—it’s raw, hands-on, and connects with us visually in a way 3D animation doesn’t always reach.

For creators, this ad is a reminder of why we love tech in the first place: it’s not just about consuming, it’s about creating. The Mac Mini isn’t flashy; it’s quietly powerful. And in this ad, it shows us that sometimes, the best tools are the ones that let you keep it simple, focus, and get things done creatively.

Learning About AI

In this web-based resource, you can learn about Artificial Intelligence and the key areas that make it up. It’s a great example of a resource, providing mini learning objects for us to consume. https://atozofai.withgoogle.com/intl/en-US/

I love the rollovers on the desktop:

Love the rollovers and motion on the desktop.

Review it on a mobile device to learn how the content shifts and moves.

Let me know what you think.

Best Mac Screen Capture > CleanShot X

What I love: It just works. Whether you need to grab a still or video to include in email, documentation, or share feedback, if you are on a Mac, check out CleanShot X.

  • Easy to activate
  • Great ux for captuing scrolling pages
  • Text recognition so helpful (iOS and MacOS aslo have but nice to have in one place)
  • Annotations are Editable (on a layer)
  • Option to Save / Share to Cloud with team
  • Fast

The menu provides several ways to capture a still or video.

https://cleanshot.com

Cost $29 1 time or $8 per user/mo for Cloud Pro

New App: RealityScan captures & creates 3models from your phone (in beta)

RealityScan, a free 3D scanning app, developed in collaboration with Quixel, that turns your smartphone photos into high-fidelity 3D models—in the most accessible way possible.

Capturing real-world assets for digital experiences has traditionally been complicated, technical, and labor-intensive. Now in limited beta, RealityScan takes what people love about RealityCapture—fast and easy 3D scanning—and puts it into the hands of anyone with a smartphone, turning their cameras into an endless source of creativity.

Example of 3D Chair created from a smartphone camera

Learn More: https://www.capturingreality.com/introducing-realityscan

Mac App: Presentify for Quick Annotations

Presentify is a Mac App I discovered last month and I’m loving it. Presentify allows you to quickly annotate, highlight or spotlight your cursor. Whether you are creating a screencast, presenting in Teams, or just chatting over slack, Presentify provides a way to quickly highlight and communicate an idea without having to switch or juggle tools, apps, or settings.

Why is this important? Unlike Zoom which has the ability for everyone to annotate on a shared screen, Teams, Webex, and Slack Huddles do not have the ability. When walking thru a concept, sharing a story, or reviewing prototypes, Presentify allows you to quickly annotate in the context of the conversation and save time, making it easier to share an idea or communicate feedback.

Highlighting your cursor – you can control the color

After activating the app, you have a simple tool bar where you can quickly select 1 of 3 colors, which you can customize, select freehand tool, arrow, shapes, text or erase what’s on screen.

Hitting the / key allows you to display Shortcuts and see the current keyboard setting or you can customize the keys within your preferences.

Cost $5.99 – 1 time fee

Learn more: https://presentify.compzets.com

Quickly Remove Backgrounds with macOS Monterey

Using a Mac with the M1 chips is allow Apple to create and expand its features to make it easier for everyone to do more. A simple example, you can now right-click on any image, in the Finder, select Quick Actions and Remove Background. After a couple of seconds, the image will appear in its silhouetted format.

Growing up with Photoshop and learning how to create an alpha key, this just makes me smile because anyone can now isolate an object in seconds.

Join us on Feb 9 + 10 to Learn how to Deepen Your ID Skills presented by The Learning Guild

If you are looking to brush up and upgrade your ID skills with an online conference, check out next week’s Deeping Your ID Skills Online Conference taking place on Feb 9 and 10th. I’ll be kicking off Day 1 with 5 Fundamentals to Level Up Your Design Skills

In this session, you’ll learn how to level up our design skills and learn how using design fundamentals such as grids, typography, and font selection can spark your content design, ways to select imagery, media in preparation for a visual layout, the importance of color choice, and how an emphasis on accessibility and interactivity can improve our learning experiences. We’ll explore the use of everyday tools and see how collaborative technologies not only help to share, analyze, review but also spark creativity!

Learn More >

Color Palettes made easy with Coolors.co

The COOLors site provides an easy way to explore, discover or pull palettes from a photo or image. It has a fun interface and allows you to test for certain types of accessibility. Watch the quick demo of how it works.

Watch the ScreenCast.

Working with Shades

While creating a palette, you can also select View Shades which allows you to quickly view shades of a color and select or copy for use in your palette.

Need some inspiration and looking for a color palette, select Explore Trending Color Palettes.

Give it a Try

Currently you can view from:

  • iOS or Android App
  • Chrome Extension
  • Web App
  • FUTURE Figma plug-in

It’s free but a Pro license available which removes add and provides a easy way to save and access palettes for $36 per year.

Test drive: coolors.co

Apps, Gadgets and Tech to Create, Collaborate and Elevate #IDIODC

If you haven’t checked out the #IDIODC podcast, Brent and Chris interview and dive into topics around learning and technology. Great way to keep up and connect with peers.

You can listen to my chat about technology and expanding your toolbox.

Check out the weekly episodes, every Wednesday and you can listen to the library at: https://www.dominknow.com/idiodc.

Apple’s Universal Control feature will be a productivity game-changer

Universal Control allows you simply move your cursor between devices to be more productive.

Apple’s latest beta’s for MacOS 12.3 and iOS 15.4 allow developers to test drive the new features and provide feedback. This new OS feature allows you to use one keyboard and mouse/trackpad to move to the edge of your screen and instantly jump to control, input, or even drag and drop content back and forth between devices. This would allow you to have an iMac, MacBook, and iPad and move your cursor between all three.

This will allow for greater productivity since you can use multiple devices for an expanded desktop to browse, test, or be creative just by moving edge to edge to work with each device.

Watch Apple’s introduction during the Apple Developers Conference.

Join us for an Online Event on 8/26 on Trends in Learning: Where Should I Focus 2021 via ATD Houston

Join us on Thursday, August 26 for a special collaborative edition of Learning Trends: Where Should I Focus? This fun session will be an interactive dive into trends in learning + creativity.

Attendees will drive the conversation and you’ll get to create your own Focus Sheet using Miro so that you can quickly apply, plus resources, tools, and knowledge to help apply to your upcoming projects.

Register at: https://sealworks.team/atd21HoustonEvent

Trends Interactive Graphic: Content, Personalization, Experiences, Gamification, Beyond the Screen and PLNs

Using ClipDrop.co to grab objects or things all around us

Using the new ClipDrop.co you are able to quickly grab any object that is around you. This blows my mind every time I use it because I think about in the old days, yesterday, having to either reposition everything perfectly or opening a photo in Photoshop and spending an hour or more editing. 

ClipDrop.co can be installed on your iOS or Android device and there is a complimentary Mac or Windows app which will sync the photos to your computer to use instantly in whatever program you want. 

After a handful of tests, you will need to subscribe to a monthly or yearly subscription but the cost is worth it, $40 per year, if you use it in one comp or product. 

Learn more and links to download at ClipDrop.co