On her new album, Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé puts a new spin on Dolly Parton’s classic song, “Jolene.” Though the album has achieved critical acclaim and commercial success from the start, it has also attracted some pushback. It’s only natural that Beyoncé’s cover version would be compared to the 1973 original. Some people commenting online were vocal about not liking Beyoncé’s version, often citing its lack of vulnerability when compared to Parton’s version. But is vulnerability essential to the tale of “Jolene”? There are upwards of 80 covers of “Jolene,” but Beyoncé’s is a departure from the re ..read more

It’s no secret that the narrative around the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been decidedly bleak since last fall when the release of The Marvels inspired major headlines like “How Marvel Lost Its Way,” “In Marvel we no longer trust,” and “The MCU isn’t dead but it’s hurting.” Now bringing two of Marvel comics’ most controversial and beloved characters into the MCU together may just turn the tide. And who better to market this Hail Mary than Ryan Reynolds, who’s created his own genre of advertising over the past decade? This week, Reynolds dropped the first full trailer for the upcoming Deadpool ..read more

When renowned industrial designer Ray Eames sat down to conceptualize a new piece of furniture, often alongside her husband, Charles, she used her background as a painter to imagine all the different color palettes that might work. The duo’s playful, artistic take on the craft is part of what made the most iconic Eames designs so timeless.  But while many of their initial sketches went on to become real products, many more ideas stayed inside their sketchbooks. Today, Herman Miller is hoping to change that. The furniture manufacturer is releasing two beloved Eames designs in new colorways ..read more

L.L. Bean, the 112-year-old outdoor retailer best known for its fuzzy fleece layers and winter-proof Bean Boots, can ignore summer no longer. To prove it, the New England-based company is launching its biggest collaboration to date with the swimwear company Summersalt. The full collection debuts online and in stores today and includes swimsuits, coverups, and accessories, as well as inflatable paddleboards, beach chairs, and other gear. While L.L. Bean has given a nod to spring and summer and water-sports wear in the past, this is one of its most significant steps beyond its wintery niche.&nbs ..read more

Upscale fitness chain Equinox seemed to be throwing in the towel. In January, gym members in select markets started receiving messages about a new club benefit: a training program that was, according to Equinox, a “one-of-a-kind approach to weight loss with GLP-1.” Coming soon after WeightWatchers’s launch of a telehealth program to prescribe weight-loss drugs for its members last December, Equinox’s so-called GLP-1 training “protocol” looked like another admission that diet and exercise were no match for powerful drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound (or Ozempic and Mounjaro, which are approved f ..read more

Like many companies, the global financial services firm Moody’s has been looking at its office design a little differently over the past few years. With 15,000 employees working in more than 40 countries, the company has a lot of office real estate. Since adopting a policy allowing remote work during the pandemic, most of that office space has been underutilized. “What we learned as an organization was that the way our employees will engage with physical office space is going to change,” says Doug Ryker, head of global real estate and workplace strategy for Moody’s. So, the company decided tha ..read more

A public bathroom crisis is mounting around the U.S. as cities struggle with how to meet a basic human need. And while cities are exploring options to help solve the crisis, older adults, unhoused people, transgender people, people with disabilities and families with small children are bearing the cost. Enter got2gonyc, a source for all things bathroom in New York City and the brainchild of 24-year-old opera singer Teddy Siegel. [Photo: Courtesy Teddy Siegel] She’s turned a part-time project documenting bathrooms around New York City into a full-tim ..read more

At last, after two years of lagging behind other generative AI platforms, Adobe has caught up to the competition with its new Firefly 3. Not only does the new model’s photorealistic output appear radically improved but, in combination with the latest public Photoshop beta available today, it provides new and useful tools that could improve the life of pixel pushers everywhere, from amateurs to professionals. Photoshop beta—available in its final form sometime later in the year—introduces features that deeply integrate with the new Firefly 3 generative AI engine, while still maintaining the sam ..read more

Last week, Tesla recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks after social media videos showed the truck’s accelerator pedal could become lodged in a full-throttle position under the interior trim. Now the company has an exceedingly simple fix for the faulty pedal. A Tesla service bulletin and photos and video posted online by Cybertruck owners shows the company’s fix: a rivet installed on the bottom end of the pedal pad that prevents it from sliding off. Here is the @cybertruck 35 second recall fix at the Cyber takeover event pic.twitter.com/XGsINAEFHQ — Aaron Cash (@aaronjcash) April 20, 2024 In a National ..read more

U.S. government brand identities are a mixed bag. Once you’ve put the NASA meatball and National Park Service badge on a special shelf, you’re left with a voluminous aerie of eagles, and a smattering of official marks that all look perfectly official . . . and, ultimately, entirely forgettable. Which is a problem if you’re trying to rally younger generations around a new idea—like, say, the American Climate Corps, which formally launched today with the debut of its new website and jobs program. How do you brand it?  “Design has an incredible power, and it is something that can make a big ..read more