Anthropic has launched interactive apps inside Claude, letting users connect tools like Slack, Figma, Canva, Box, and more directly within the chatbot. The feature, available to paid users, allows Claude to send messages, generate designs, and pull files from connected services. Built on the same open Model Context Protocol used by OpenAI, the system is designed for workplace use and will soon integrate with Anthropic’s Cowork agent, allowing AI to take on more complex, multi-step tasks across company tools. (TechCrunch)

India is slashing tariffs on European cars from as high as 110% to 40% under a new EU trade deal, with rates eventually falling to 10%. That’s a huge win for brands like BMW, Mercedes, and VW looking to crack the world’s third-largest auto market. EVs stay protected for five years, but traditional automakers just got a much smoother ride into India’s fast-growing car economy. (Reuters)

TikTok’s daily uninstalls in the U.S. jumped nearly 150% after the company announced a joint venture under new American leadership. Privacy concerns over updated policies and app glitches drove creators to leave, though overall active usage remained steady. Some rival apps like UpScrolled and Skylight Social saw significant download spikes. TikTok attributed service issues to a U.S. data center outage and promised a fix. (CNBC)

A massive winter storm sent U.S. natural gas prices up nearly 30%, with front-month futures closing at $6.80 per million Btu, the largest single-day gain since 2022. The Arctic blast has knocked offline roughly 12% of U.S. gas production, while demand for heating and power surged. Cash prices in the Northeast spiked above $200 per million Btu. Power grids are strained, thousands of flights grounded, and gas flows to LNG export plants hit a one-year low. Traders warn volatility could persist as the storm continues. (Bloomberg)

CVector, a New York industrial AI startup, raised $5M to power its “nervous system” for factories and utilities. The platform helps its clients optimize operations, monitor energy use, and prevent downtime, turning small actions like valve adjustments into measurable cost savings. Founders Richard Zhang and Tyler Ruggles say AI adoption has surged as companies seek operational clarity in uncertain times. CVector now has 12 employees, its first Manhattan office, and backing from Powerhouse Ventures, Fusion Fund, Myriad, and Hitachi Ventures. (TechCrunch)

And people hated it.

I was one of them, because it just didn’t feel like Utah. 

It felt like something a committee approved because nobody wanted to fight about it.

So I opened my laptop and made my own.

Five minutes later, I had a logo that actually looked like it represented Utah. 

I’m not saying I should be designing Olympic branding.

But I am saying the gap between “big-budget creative” and “what one person can do with the right tools” has basically collapsed.

If you understand the fundamentals of branding and have access to modern AI tools, you can move very fast and get to something that looks legitimately good.

Maybe even better…

PS: The Real Work Happened Before the Image Generator

Most people think the magic happens when you type a prompt into an image tool.

That’s not where the quality comes from.

The quality comes from how you think about the problem before you ever generate anything.

This is where Gemini Pro did most of the heavy lifting.

Gemini Pro is one of my favorite tools at the moment. My team and I swear by its research and reasoning abilities for content, design, and just about everything else. 

So I used it to turn a vague idea (“Utah Winter Olympics”) into something usable:

In a normal agency, that’s a brand strategist, a mood board, and a creative brief.

Gemini did it in about 60 seconds.

Before I get cancelled, this isn’t a total replacement for an in-house or remote design team. Creative minds are incredible, especially when they actually get your brand. 

But this is a quick alternative when you don’t have weeks or thousands of dollars for a quick design project. 

Under the hood, Gemini Pro is built for:

That’s why it’s so strong for design work.

You’re not just asking:

“Make me a logo.”

You’re asking:

“Given Utah’s history, geography, and symbolism, what visual language makes sense?”

Gemini is very good at that kind of question.

This is roughly what my workflow looked like.

First, I asked Gemini to break Utah down visually:

It came back with things like:

Then I asked it to convert that into:

Only after that did I ask it to help me generate the image.

That’s the difference.

Most people jump straight to “generate.” But you’ve got to do the research and reasoning first. 

I’ve tested this across:

Gemini is especially strong at:

It doesn’t just give you one answer.
It gives you a map.

That’s exactly what founders need when they’re:

Gemini Advanced (Pro tier) is about $20/month.

Again, I’m not advocating for getting rid of your design team and replacing them with AI. However, Gemini Pro is an incredibly useful tool throughout the business and can be a massive helping hand for your design team. 

It can support:

For a founder or a large or small team, that’s insane leverage.

But Gemini Pro isn’t the only tool out there (even though it’s one of my preferences); some other tools need to be mentioned here if we’re talking about design. 

These two get lumped together, but they really shouldn’t.

Best for:

This is where your EA, marketer, or ops person should be constantly learning, playing around, and upskilling. 

Pricing

Canva is great for speed; it’s intuitive and is pretty much the blueprint for design tools. 

Best for:

This is where you lock the brand in.

Pricing

Figma is especially useful for more technical and more in depth projects where structure is a high priority. 

This is the setup I use now:

Gemini Pro
→ Think through the brand, positioning, and visual direction

→ Turn vague ideas into clear creative direction

Figma
→ Break things down

→ Map layouts, flows, components, and structure

→ Design websites, apps, and anything technical that needs to be built correctly

Canva
→ Where the brand actually gets used

→ Decks, social posts, ads, one-pagers, logos, newsletters, visuals

Design used to be gated by:

Now it’s gated by:

The important part is understanding what “good” looks like and how to get there.

And right now, tools like Gemini, Canva, and Figma are making that possible for almost any founder.