D&T Issue 292

Hi there!

It’s issue #292 of DNT Weekly and as per usual the week has been eventful. Here’s what we’ve been reading of late.

Pantone picks ‘Cloud Dancer’ as 2026 Colour of the Year. Cloud Dancer, a soft, airy white that aims to inspire calm, clarity, and creative reset. But this year’s announcement isn’t just about hue. It’s about cross-category storytelling, and Pantone is bringing the whole world along for the ride. Read all about it here.

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After leading Growth Product & Design at Miro, the author observes how easy it is for teams to over-optimise for metrics and under-invest in experience. And in the last months, after speaking with 200+ people at Autodesk and training 60+ growth practitioners at Monday.com, one thing became clear: PLG doesn’t work without UX — and UX doesn’t scale without PLG thinking.

Something has changed in the last few years. You see it in the cap tables: designers with real equity, joining at single-digit employee numbers. Not as the person who makes the logo. As a founder.

As chair and managing director of Design for Good, Ben Sheppard and Cecilia Brenner believe designers are uniquely positioned to create social and environmental change.

Exploring how the user experience must evolve as agents begin using products on behalf of users.

Design is becoming human again.

Three key lessons from people who picked multiple iconic companies before they were obvious.