Mark Wilson
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Lead Writer, @hark_labs. Former Global Design Editor @fastcompany
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Articles by Mark Wilson
Kraft Corrugated Shipping Boxes
Shipping products safely requires packaging that is appropriate for the product and the delivery environment. For many businesses, corrugated construction is an important part of that decision because its layered structure can provide useful strength and rigidity. Kraft corrugated shipping boxes combine a familiar kraft appearance with corrugated construction, making them a practical option for e-commerce, retail shipping, subscription businesses, and other applications.
This thoughtful AI-powered ring captures your thoughts on the go
Stream, an AI note-taking ring, is a winner of Fast Company’s 2026 Innovation by Design Awards. Listen to this ArticleMore info An AI-powered ring that lets you whisper thoughts into your hand has won this year’s Innovation by Design award in the on the rise category. Stream, a wearable device by New York-based start-up Sandbar, was designed to fit on your index finger. It lets you capture your thoughts, chat with AI, and dictate messages on the go.
The best designs of 2026 from up-and-coming companies
See all the honorees of Fast Company’s 2026 Innovation by Design Awards in the on the rise category. Listen to this ArticleMore info Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards honors the best design among young companies that are less than four years old in the on the rise category. This year’s winner, Stream by Sandbar, is an AI-powered smart ring that acts as a personal note-taker and thought partner thanks to intuitive recording controls and an audio interface that reduces the need for a phone.
The best user experience design of 2026
See all the honorees of Fast Company’s 2026 Innovation by Design Awards in the user experience category. Listen to this ArticleMore info The user experience category of Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards honors projects that consider a user’s journey from beginning to end, whether in an app, a physical product, or a brick-and-mortar experience.
Moncler’s new website gets the glossy magazine treatment
Moncler’s newly redesigned website is a winner of Fast Company’s 2026 Innovation by Design Awards. Listen to this ArticleMore info The new website for the luxury brand Moncler pulls its DNA from the fashion magazines you might find on a coffee table. While many luxury e-commerce sites show rows of products, dense grids, like a catalog, the new Moncler.com takes a more editorial approach.
Chili’s is on fire! The untold story of the biggest, most viral restaurant turnaround in years
At first glance, the toile wallpaper is pure class: cream-colored and printed with intricate, brick-red drawings. But as I look more closely, I see . . . Wait. Is that a pair of chili peppers riding a Jet Ski? And is that other pepper, the one on a chaise longue, posing nude for a painting? The wallpaper is just one of many decorative flourishes competing for my attention as I sit at a Chili’s restaurant, already on my fourth free iced tea refill.
HOW CHILI'S GOT IT'S SIZZLE BACK
Fast Company | Summer 2026 THE BIGGEST RESTAURANT TURNAROUND IN YEARS STARTED WITH 100 SMALL FIXES AND ONE VIRAL DISH. NOW CHILI'S IS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, SERVING UP MARGARITAS, MOLTEN CHEESE, AND A RARE SENSE OF MASS-MARKET INDULGENCE. AT FIRST GLANCE, THE TOILE WALLPAPER IS PURE CLASS: CREAM-COLORED AND PRINTED WITH INTRICATE, BRICKRED DRAWINGS. BUT AS I LOOK MORE CLOSELY, I SEE... WAIT. IS THAT a pair of chili peppers riding a Jet Ski?
Welcome to the age of the underdog AI model
Custom AI models are not just for the AI giants anymore. Because the 37-person startup Krea is releasing its first generative AI model as the design tools startup repositions itself as a full-fledged AI research lab. The model called Krea 2 (or K2), is a significant move for Krea, but it also seems to tease an almost inevitable moment in the rapidly evolving AI market, where smaller players in the industry can make more disruptive bets.
Design enters its frenemies era
It was the shock that the design world didn’t see coming, but should have. In mid-April, Anthropic, the maker of Claude, launched a stand-alone design tool called Claude Design. No matter that Google had already tried the same thing with its platform Stitch, and there were also plenty of perfectly good vibe coding tools on the market.
El nuevo carrito de Target fue diseñado para tus Stanleys y tu Starbucks
Es la SUV de tres filas del retail de grandes superficies. El icónico carrito rojo de Target siempre ha sido el ancla de la experiencia dentro de sus tiendas, con la promesa de una experiencia aspiracional para la clase media. Durante los próximos años, Target reemplazará su flota de medio millón de carritos por un modelo todavía más robusto, que promete mayor capacidad de carga y mejor maniobrabilidad dentro de la tienda.
Target’s new shopping cart is built for Stanleys and Starbucks (exclusive)
It’s the three-row SUV of big-box retail. Target’s bold red shopping cart has always anchored customers inside a Target store, promising a middle-class fancy experience. For the next few years, Target will be replacing its fleet of half a million shopping carts with an even beefier model that promises to hold more stuff while making it easier to maneuver around the store.
Anduril isn’t just building the future of warfare; it’s redesigning it
What’s the closest you’ve ever stood to a drone? I’m not talking about a cute quadcopter, but a military-grade death machine that can carry enough warheads to obliterate a bridge, a tank, or a building? Sure, I’d heard of them. I’d seen them on the news. I’ve closely followed the paper, scissors, rock war in Ukraine where every six weeks the Ukrainians or Russians break the rules with new drone hacks.
My 7 favorite things from Milan Design Week
I’m addicted to the curtain. That moment when you walk through a dark hall, push through two layers of dark drapes, and whatever you see next—no matter what it is—is a bit of a thrill. It’s one of my favorite motifs of Milan Design Week, when half a million people from around the globe for a citywide celebration of all things design. [Photo: Mark Wilson] The hook is Salone de Mobile, the world’s largest furniture trade show. Its 3/4-mile-long fairgrounds feature 1,900 exhibitors from 32 countries.
Chicago acaba de construir el recinto de magia más grande del mundo: dale un vistazo
La última vez que puse un pie en esta histórica mansión de Chicago (Estados Unidos), construida en el corazón de Michigan Avenue, me sirvieron una porción pequeña de costilla tibia. Esto fue cuando era un restaurante de carnes Lawry’s. Recuerdo manteles blancos, bandejas de plata, una escalera decente y habitaciones antiguas y anticuadas que me hacían sentir más como en una funeraria que en la Edad Dorada. Ahora, al entrar en el vestíbulo, una gran puerta de madera se abre frente a mí.
Chicago just built the largest magic venue in the world—take a peek inside
The last time I set foot in this historic Chicago mansion built in the heart of Michigan Avenue, I’d been served one less-than-generous slice of lukewarm prime rib. This is back when it was a Lawry’s steakhouse. I remember white tablecloths, silver serving trays, one decent staircase, and just the stodgiest of old rooms that felt less like I was in the Gilded Age than at a funeral parlor. Now, when I step inside the lobby, a large wooden door slides open in front of me.
Samsung shares its thesis on the future of design and AI (exclusive) Original
A Samsung Galaxy Tri-Fold smartphone sits beside something we haven’t seen before. It’s a round screen with a swiveling head. Called Project Luna, it has the mechanical charm of Luxo Jr., and a beep not so different from Wall-E. “The guests are here,” whispers a voice. Moments later, we hear an orchestra begin to play.
Canva is officially ‘an AI platform with design tools’
Canva built its 265-million-person audience by being the easy-to-use, template-friendly design tool for everyone. And when generative AI arrived, it quickly integrated the technology. Now, Canva is amongst the leading spenders on compute from platforms like ChatGPT, it’s building its own models and acquiring its own AI companies, and it’s launching even more AI design features as part of its Canva AI 2.0 release that it’s announcing today.
Tostitos rediseñó sus bolsas para enfatizar una cosa obvia
El año pasado, PepsiCo comenzó Imprimir patatas reales en cada bolsa de Lay’s. ¿La razón? Vivimos en un mundo donde la gente está cada vez más preocupada por la procedencia de sus alimentos. Así que, 42% de la población no se dio cuenta de que las papas fritas más populares del mundo estaban hechas de papas. Entonces pusieron una papa en la bolsa. Y ahora, la compañía está actualizando las bolsas Tostitos —el chip de tortilla simple más popular del mundo— con una estrategia similar.
Tostitos redesigned its bags to emphasize one obvious thing
Last year, PepsiCo started printing real potatoes onto every bag of Lay’s. The reason? In a world where people are increasingly concerned about the provenance of their food, 42% of the population didn’t realize that the world’s most popular potato chip was made from potatoes. So they put a potato on the packaging. And now, the company is updating Tostitos bags—the most popular plain tortilla chip in the world—with a similar strategy.
Las empresas de diseño más innovadoras de 2026
Tras el auge de la inteligencia artificial moderna, el diseño nunca volverá a ser el mismo. No es de extrañar que la mayoría de las empresas más innovadoras en diseño de 2026 destacaran por aprovechar o posibilitar esta tecnología de maneras novedosas. Esto incluye los robots humanoides que dan volteretas hacia atrás de la empresa china Unitree. El software de visualización de BioRender procesa estadísticas y se ha convertido rápidamente en la herramienta de facto para la investigación publicada.
Inside Day Job’s strategy for creating ‘cocky’ brands like David Protein and TBPN
The L.A.-based studio helps brands see their future selves. And they’re not always friendly. [Illustration: Pierre Buttin] Listen to this ArticleMore info The world didn’t need another protein bar. But it wanted this one. Within a week of launching its low-carb, high-macro David bar in the fall of 2024, David Protein reportedly surpassed $1 million sales.
Starbucks is reinvesting in hospitality—and it’s working
Under CEO Brian Niccol, the coffee giant is undergoing one of the most aggressive retail redesigns in business history. [Illustration: Pierre Buttin] Listen to this ArticleMore info When Brian Niccol took the helm as Starbucks CEO in 2024, he promised that the floundering company would be going “back to Starbucks.” In a world defined by automation, he wanted to return the coffee giant to its café-culture roots. But he urged patience. And then, for five straight quarters, Starbucks stagnated.
This $4,900 robot can run, flip, and do kung fu
Standing at 4 feet tall, Unitree’s R1 Air can run, flip, walk on its hands, and jump-kick a watermelon into pulp. The humanoid robot has 26 joints and AI vision, and it connects to an app that allows owners to download new moves, from the Twist to some of Bruce Lee’s signature kung fu. And it sells for just $4,900—the cost of a high-end refrigerator. There are a slew of startups pursuing humanoid robots, but China’s Unitree is the first to make them a mainstream consumer product.
How BYD used design to dethrone Tesla
Listen to this ArticleMore info What does the car of the future look like? It’s probably electric and made by BYD, the world’s largest EV manufacturer. But that hardly narrows the possibilities. Over the past seven quarters, the Shenzhen-based automaker has invested more than $13 billion in R&D in its quest to build affordable, futuristic, and even regionally targeted EVs—most of which now come with self-driving capabilities.
The most innovative design companies of 2026
Following the rise of modern AI, design will never be the same. It’s no wonder that a majority of our 2026 Most Innovative Companies in design stood out by either leveraging or enabling the technology in new ways. That includes the Chinese company Unitree’s backflipping humanoid robots, and BioRender’s statistics-crunching visualization software that’s quickly become the de facto tool behind published research.
The PC era is dying. Welcome to the collective computer era
“The purpose of computers is human freedom.” – Ted Nelson, Computer Lib/Dream Machines (1974) The computer is as emblematic of the American dream as the automobile. Perhaps it’s only natural that Apple, HP, Adobe, Google, and Amazon were each launched out of a garage. It was inside the garage that the modern era of personal computers was born, where anyone could own the power to calculate millions, and then billions of processes per second.
La nueva y tierna mascota de Firefox quiere protegerte del internet
A los navegadores web les encanta el tema de la navegación. Safari es claramente una brújula. Chrome parece un ojo cibernético que todo lo ve. ¿Pero Firefox? Es comparativamente desatado: un animal salvaje hecho de llamas. Es como una criatura salida de Pokémon, Digimon o la mitología china. Y ahora, por primera vez, el zorro rompe los límites del logo de Firefox para convertirse en una mascota corporativa de pleno derecho, lista para proteger a sus usuarios.
Firefox’s cute and fierce new mascot wants to protect you from the internet
Web browsers love the theme of navigation. Safari is clearly a compass. Chrome appears to be an all-seeing cyborg eye. But Firefox? It’s comparatively unhinged: a wild animal made of flame. It’s like a beast out of Pokémon, Digimon, or Chinese mythology. And now, for the first time, the fox is breaking out of the Firefox logo to become a full-blown corporate mascot ready to protect its customers.
El rediseño de Google Maps tiene como objetivo mantener tus ojos en la carretera, no en la pantalla
“En el semáforo, gire a la izquierda hacia Washington Street”. “Entonces, la segunda propuesta de valor—” “Gire a la derecha en la Tercera Avenida, luego en la siguiente señal de pare…” Charles Armstrong, gerente de producto de Google Maps, intenta explicar cómo las indicaciones paso a paso de la plataforma tiene su mayor actualización desde su lanzamiento en 2009. Maps es una plataforma de impacto casi insondable.
The new Google Maps redesign aims to keep your eyes on the road, not your screen
“At the light, take a sharp left onto Washington Street.” “So the second value prop—” “Turn right onto Third Avenue, then at the next stop sign…” Charles Armstrong, the product manager on Google Maps, is trying to explain how the platform’s turn-by-turn directions are getting their biggest update since the service launched in 2009.
Hiroshi Fujiwara on his latest Nike collab: ‘I don’t like to explain what I’m doing’
Hiroshi Fujiwara is perhaps the most dramatically lit person I’ve ever interviewed on Zoom. Joining me at his preferred time (midnight) from Tokyo, the man known as the godfather of streetwear—who launched his own label at 26, was among the first hip-hop DJs in Japan, wrote a regular column for Popeye, and now runs his own consultancy, Fragment—has met with me to discuss his latest collaborations with Nike. But when I dig in, asking about the hidden details lurking in his shoes?
Why Luckin Coffee, Starbucks’ biggest competitor, wants to buy Blue Bottle
The Chinese coffee giant Luckin is reportedly acquiring the third wave coffee mecca Blue Bottle in a deal worth just shy of $400 million. It’s more than another acquisition: Luckin is making its most aggressive move on Starbucks since it opened its first U.S. locations in New York in 2025 in a rivalry that is quickly heating up. But to understand what’s at play, we need to zoom out for a moment to take a quick scan of the global coffee market.
‘We just have to experiment faster’: AI’s changed design forever. Now what?
I may have just seen the biggest interface breakthrough in years. Or not. But I think so? Things are moving so fast that it’s hard to tell. Ryo Lu, head of design at the white-hot coding tool Cursor has invited me to their charcoal-hued San Francisco studio. Before anyone says hello, I’m greeted by a pile of footwear in the entry of the no-shoes open office. I suddenly regret my choice to wear my New Balance loafers without socks.
El anillo de Quartz que certifica tu id digital
La realidad se desvanece ante nuestros ojos. La suplantación de identidad, solo contra adultos mayores, entre 2020 y 2024, impulsada en parte por suplantaciones convincentes de amigos y seres queridos mediante IA. Es un problema que cuesta a los estadounidenses casi 500 millones de dólares al año y no se vislumbra un fin. Por eso, dos estudios de diseño se unieron para crear una solución provocadora que comienza con un apretón de manos real.
This crypto ring certifies your digital self with real-life handshakes
Reality is melting away before our eyes. Identity spoofing against older adults alone between 2020 and 2024, driven in part by convincing AI impersonations of friends and loved ones. It’s a problem costing people in the U.S. nearly half a billion dollars a year with no end in sight. Which is why a pair of design studios teamed up on a provocative solution that starts with a real-life handshake. Called Quartz, it’s a ring that adds friends to your network by literally shaking hands.
How Starbucks designed its new iconic cup and big comfy chair
Since taking over the coffee chain in 2024, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has been on a mission to go “back to Starbucks” and rekindle the feeling of warmth inside the coffee giant. That’s led to new store designs, new employee training, new uniforms, new menu items, and new staffing—which have helped the company break out of a two-year sales rut.
Read Jony Ive’s advice to young creatives Original
The advice you get early in your career can disproportionately shape your future. I can recall two or three conversations from when I was a college kid who liked writing that melted away ambiguity and set my vague ambitions on a path into the fog like a compass. For the latest release by The Steve Jobs Archive, the group is making the advice of some of the most uniquely impactful people in the world available to everyone.
Listen to Oscar nominee Hannah Beachler on our By Design podcast
“I want a space odyssey. I wanted Star Wars. I got close to that once.” That’s production designer Hannah Beachler, talking about the grand filmic world she wants to build next. For our February episode of By Design, we spoke to Beachler (Creed, Black Panther) about her latest work with director Ryan Coogler on Sinners—the most Oscar-nominated film of all time. We caught up with her last time before she bagged an Oscar on Black Panther and then designed the sequel.
crea videojuegos con una sola instrucción
Hace muchos años, recuerdo haber insertado un disco de 3.5 pulgadas en mi PC. Con mi dinero, había comprado un software de diseño de videojuegos por catálogo por 5 dólares. Y mientras miraba la terminal, perdido sin una interfaz gráfica de usuario familiar… mis esfuerzos de programación se desvanecieron. El diseño de juegos se convirtió en un concepto abstracto incluso cuando me convertí en periodista de videojuegos: un tema esbozado en cuadernos, discutido teóricamente y observado críticamente.
I vibe-coded a video game for under $25. Here’s how it went
Too many years ago, I remember slotting a 3.5-inch disk into my PC. With my allowance, I’d bought $5 video game design software from a catalog. And as I looked at the terminal, lost without some familiar GUI . . . my coding efforts died. Game design became an abstract concept even as I became a game journalist—a topic sketched in notebooks, theoretically discussed, critically observed. That was, until I loaded Moonlake AI.
I vibe-coded a video game for under $25. Here’s how it went
6 hours ago India's AI Impact Summit, billed as a landmark gathering of global leaders and technology executives, was overshadowed by logistical chaos on its opening day in Delhi on Monday. Participants complained about long queues, overcrowding and confusion at the venue, saying they had to wait for hours. …
Why your smartphone is about to turn you into a vibe coder
When the iPhone first introduced apps in 2008, a feverish gold rush followed. New APIs and design standards made it easier to make software—even by non-coders. The question became: Could you create a small experience, perhaps something as simple as a fart button app, that could make you a million dollars in a weekend? (And while some people definitely cashed in, a majority of us did not.) Nearly two decades later, the rest of us have another opportunity to rethink mobile software.
Exploring the Ferrari Luce: A glimpse into the future of electric supercars
Mark Wilson|Published 36 minutes ago I hold the key to the Ferrari in my hand. I press it, like a puzzle piece, into a notch by my right hip. Yellow fades from the key as the hue enters the shifter and the dashboard comes to life with a wave of yellow. I’m enchanted. My foot can’t wait to slam down on the pedal. The only thing I’m missing is . . . the entire rest of the car. Even for a legendary automaker launching its firstEV, it was a preposterous pitch: Ferrari’s big car reveal would not show the car.
Why your smartphone is about to turn you into a vibe coder
When the iPhone first introduced apps in 2008, a feverish gold rush followed. New APIs and design standards made it easier to make software—even by non-coders. The question became: Could you create a small experience, perhaps something as simple as a fart button app, that could make you a million dollars in a weekend? (And while some people definitely cashed in, a majority of us did not.) Nearly two decades later, the rest of us have another opportunity to rethink mobile software.
First look inside the Ferrari Luce: The closest thing to an ‘Apple car’ we will ever get
I’m enchanted. My foot can’t wait to slam down on the pedal. The only thing I’m missing is . . . the entire rest of the car. Even for a legendary automaker launching its first EV, it was a preposterous pitch: Ferrari’s big car reveal would not show the car. And it wouldn’t show the car’s interior, either. Instead, journalists were asked to fly—some of them halfway across the world—to scope out a steering wheel, a few chunks of dashboard, a center console, and a seat.
First look inside the Ferrari Luce: The closest thing to an ‘Apple car’ we will ever get
I hold the key to the Ferrari in my hand. I press it, like a puzzle piece, into a notch by my right hip. Yellow fades from the key as the hue enters the shifter and the dashboard comes to life with a wave of yellow. I’m enchanted. My foot can’t wait to slam down on the pedal. The only thing I’m missing is . . . the entire rest of the car. Even for a legendary automaker launching its first EV, it was a preposterous pitch: Ferrari’s big car reveal would not show the car.
Yahoo responde a los buscadores con IA con Yahoo Scout
Puede que Yahoo ya no sea la empresa tecnológica más destacada, pero su alcance es innegable. Con casi 250 millones de usuarios mensuales en Estados Unidos y 700 millones a nivel mundial, sigue siendo el segundo proveedor de correo electrónico más popular del mundo y el tercer motor de búsqueda más popular en Estados Unidos (aunque técnicamente este motor de búsqueda ha estado impulsado por Bing o Google desde 2009).
Customers go ‘Back to Starbucks’ as company posts first U.S. growth in 2 years
Since Brian Niccol took over as Starbucks Chairman and CEO in 2024, he’s promised a grand turnaround for the coffee giant by going back to its roots in lovingly designed, customer-centric stores. The messaging wasn’t enough to break six straight quarters of global sales decline. Global sales grew 1% at the end of the 2025 fiscal year, but they left the U.S. behind.
Meet Yahoo Scout: A direct response to AI search engines
Mark Wilson|Published 48 minutes ago Yahoo may not be the most headlined company in tech anymore, but its reach can’t be denied. With nearly 250 million monthly users across the country and 700 million globally, it’s still thesecond most popular email client in the world, and the third most popular search engine in the U.S. (even though that search engine has technically been powered by either Bing or Google since 2009).
Yahoo claps back on AI search engines with Yahoo Scout Original
Yahoo may not be the most headlined company in tech anymore, but its reach can’t be denied. With nearly 250 million monthly users across the country and 700 million globally, it’s still the second most popular email client in the world, and the third most popular search engine in the U.S. (even though that search engine has technically been powered by either Bing or Google since 2009).
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