Jim MacLeod

This was my introduction to Groff. These days my daughter is a theater kid, so now I see him as he usually is.

And he was great when we saw Merrily.

Went to see Fantastic Four last night.

My favorite part: 👑

I'm telling you, ~2015 the era of performance advertising with attribution as a no-brainer growth lever ended.

It's just that no one told execs and most are still acting like it works.

Post 2015: Brand marketing > performance ads (this story from Unilever is 🔥🔥🔥)

The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...

The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations

www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...

Via Ann Handley

(Back when I was laying out a lot of type, I preferred the en-dash because it wasn’t so gaudy.)

I kept ChatGPT. The rest of it still works well. I just need a best-in-class image generator.

YouTube video by A. Lee Judge Why Marketers Must Master Visual Design to Drive Business Results (with Jim MacLeod)

My latest podcast appearance, on The Business of Marketing, came out today. It's always great to chat with @aleejudge.bsky.social!

If you're a marketer or business owner, check it out!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iw3...

I resubscribed to Midjourney. ChatGPT’s images are fine for one or two, but after a while, you start to see the massive chasm in quality between the two.

This is a great way to define risks associated with entrepreneurship.

YOURLS Your Own URL Shortener

It’s open source. I uploaded the files to my server. Created a new DB. Updated the config file, and it was up and running.
It took an hour or so. But now I can use my domain shortener anywhere!
ebri.us/yourls

I have to thank @s3th.me for suggesting I use Yourls for my shortened links.

I can set custom link endings, able to edit the links afterward, and I have analytics on link performance.

I have full control over my shortened links now.

Peanuts comic strip

Page of a Batman comic book using the same copy from the Peanuts strip.

Snoopy once wrote a Batman story.

In the 1970s, the Peanuts strip had Snoopy struggling to write a novel.

A few years later, DC and writer Len Wein used the text from Snoopy’s story as the captions for a 2-page Batman story illustrated by Walter Simonson.

I’ve been thinking about the Windsurf deal falling through and then the top execs jumping ship for a pile of cash.

Since this is (at least) the second time we’ve seen this recently, why would someone join a startup at this point?

How can talent protect themselves in these #startup situations?

Windsurf's CEO goes to Google; OpenAI's acquisition falls apart | TechCrunch Notably, Google is not taking a stake in Windsurf and will not have any control over the company.

I feel sorry for the Windsurf employees who thought they were about to cash in.
And now their company is dissolving before their eyes.
#Windsurf

techcrunch.com/2025/07/11/w...

Taste is the New Intelligence

"Taste is anti-fragile. It gets stronger the more noise you expose it to.

When you sharpen your discernment, you stop being swayed by trends. You stop needing consensus. You stop reacting to every new thing like it’s urgent."

www.wildbarethoughts.com/p/taste-is-t...

Companies cant lead if they’re waiting for evidence.

It takes audacity to do something first.
- A Lee Judge

Today I dedicated my time to designing a couple of logos.

I had forgotten how time flies when I’m working in Illustrator, throwing every bad idea on to the art board, and then refining.

#design

I read that one really quickly.

If your product revenue is declining, deciding “let’s make the experience worse” is not a good game plan.

Before I got into design/marketing, I ran movie theaters.

There are ways to fix this without just making things worse.

Same. It’s the same way we were taught to draw a capital A.

Marvel Comics have proven with the Ultimate line that they can put top talent on an imprint.

Now that the comics fall under Feige, and he’s doing far fewer shows, he (or someone close in his office) could shepherd the line.

I’m not going to dismiss an MCU line bc the early 00s adaptations were bad

My favorite bar in history announced it’s shutting down on Saturday.
I got up early to hit deadline so a friend and I can go say goodbye this afternoon.

#Marvel should have a separate MCU comic line/continuity. These are the fill-in-the-blanks stories between movies. Overseen by Feige/Marvel Studios.

Make them cheap single issues ($1.99) with cheap paper/coloring. Then the tpb is high quality. First issue free to D+ subscribers on Marvel Unlimited.

Cartoon Paul McCartney.

Happy birthday to Sir Paul McCartney!

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a letter to employees that the company’s AI push will trim its corporate headcount in the coming years with agents and automation advances. buff.ly/jvAEx6B #Artificialintelligence #Technology #Innovation #Tech #TechNews #ArtificialInteligence #FutureofWork

Canva moves into analytics with acquisition of MagicBrief Canva already provides popular tools for designing ads. Now it wants to help marketers see how they perform.

It’s interesting to watch Figma and #Canva position themselves as alternatives to Adobe … only to become Adobe-like conglomerates.

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/17/c...

I've been contracted to #design book covers for a series of books.

I started with sketches on the iPad (Procreate)
Brought those into ChatGPT to turn into photos
Took those into Photoshop to adjust color and AI to clean up parts
Then brought those into Illustrator to lay out the type on all three.

“If you skip the struggle, you miss the growth.”

@annhandley.bsky.social talking about the importance of not over relying on AI.

Her newsletter is always great, but this one is a good reminder not to outsource all of your thinking to AI. It will make you weak.

Yesterday I was asked why I’m so bullish on #AI.

As a design student, my freshman year was focused on doing layout and type by hand. We rolled ink onto letters.

Then we got a new computer lab with something called Photoshop.

I saw the digital revolution. Everyone had to evolve. AI is the same.

Thanks!
I hope they learned something they can use.

The best feedback came as an indirect compliment. One attendee mentioned to a colleague that he enjoyed my session, without knowing that I happen to know her.

That meant a lot, b/c it wasn’t something he said just to be polite while I was around.

Yesterday I gave the talk “Your AI Visuals Are Fine … Until They’re Not” at #EvolveDrupal Boston.

I got some laughs, lots of head nods, people taking pics of slides, and a handful of questions afterwards.

I consider that a win.