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Lyse Martel is a Berlin-based Color, Materials, and Finish (CMF) designer and strategist in the mobility and consumer electronics industries. Her work combines craftsmanship and emerging technology to shape design strategy, drive material innovation, and create new sensory experiences. Lyse is fascinated by designs power to shape how people feel and act. She believes design can foster emotional connection and wellbeing at a time when AI and automation are making their way into many new consumer product experiences, from the car to the living room. Below, Martel explores the emotional dimension of circular design and how the CMF field is evolving to meet the global challenges of circularity and sustainability. Fast Company: Please introduce yourself to our readers.Lyse MartelLyse Martel: Im Lyse Martel, a CMF designer and design strategist, working primarily in automotive and consumer electronics. CMF, which stands for Color, Materials, and Finish, is about how a product looks, feels, and connects emotionally. So my work focuses on those elements as well as on strategy, brand identity, and sustainability. Although I mainly work in automotive and consumer electronics, CMF can apply to many different areas. Over the years Ive worked with brands like Bang & Olufsen, Hopium, and NIO. And most recently I was directing a circular design project at Volkswagen Groupdesigning for circularity from the start with a large team of designers from different disciplines. How did you find your way into this field? It was step by step. My love for design was always there, even before I knew what to call it. It was shaped by my familys craftsmanship, as well as my own curiosity for shapes, textures, colors, and sensory experiences. On my fathers side, I grew up around a lot of woodworking and carpentry. And on my mothers side are generations of tailors. So that gave me an appreciation for textiles and textures and detailing and crafts. And Ive always loved illustration and drawing and building small architectures with natural elementseverything that could involve materials and aesthetics. And I think that brought me to materiality and storytelling and eventually to CMF design. Were you able to find an educational path that encouraged your interests? I went to a specialized high school for applied arts and design, where I grew immensely as a creative person, and had a teacher who supported me and saw my potential with conceptual thinking. At university another teacher encouraged me to apply to a design internship in the automotive sector in Paris, and thats how I formally entered the CMF design field. I was immediately drawn to the innovation and complexity of using material and color to shape the brand identity for a mobility project. [Photo: Lyse Martel]How do you stay on top of trends in color and material?Much of it is intuitive, but we also learn to connect the dots and see trends. Im very much inspired by psychology and by whats going on in the worldanything that could possibly impact human experiences and emotions. Im paying attention to developments in architecture, interiors, digital and physical design, and material innovation. Im also looking at global trends that have nothing to do with the design industry, including culture and the natural world. Nature plays a big role because you can look at how light interacts, how materials evolve with time, the functioning of ecosystems, and agriculture. Im also very interested in how CMF design intersects with concepts like wellbeing and happiness, so I follow influential practitioners like Ivy Ross from Google, and Susan Magsamen, who works on neuroaesthetics, and Carol Gilligan, the psychologist and philosopher. Could you share more about neuroaesthetics? Neuroaesthetics looks at how design makes people feel: how beauty and art and design influence our brain, and how things like color, textures, light, and sound make us react cognitively or emotionally. We know that certain visual experiences will calm or excite us, while others make us feel uncomfortable. Designers can leverage those insights to create more meaningful and intuitive interactions. Ive always been fascinated by how design makes people feel, and neuroaesthetics gives us the scientific reasoning behind those ideas. For instance, when Im working with color and material for a car interior, I can decide to craft a more calming atmosphere with natural materials, or use soft lighting or a color gradient that can guide the users eye. I can think about how textures and tactility will influence the users feeling of comfort, or their perception of product quality or durability. When it comes to sustainability, there are a lot of materials that may not be readily acceptable to a user. In that case it can be helpful to lean into the authenticity of that material, perhaps by making it warmer or softer, or relating it to nature through colors or grain. So if we can somehow elevate or upscale the experience with that material, then we can start to shift the mindset to embrace sustainable materials or choices. Earlier you mentioned your work in circular design. Could you share more about that? Circular design is rethinking how we create and use products. It means designing for longevity, adaptability, and regeneration. We seek out the right materials, we design for easy reuse and repair, and we try to ensure that the product stays in circulation for as long as possible. Longevity is the number one criteria, because the longer you use a product, the less impact it has in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and other waste metrics. With circularity do you encounter pushback from industries that simply need consumers to keep buying more stuff? It does clash with short-term profit models, so its not easy for businesses to embrace it completely. But there is momentum for circular design, which is driven by consumer expectations, tighter regulations, and a growing recognition that resource efficiency is also smart business. Ive seen mobility and consumer electronics firms try out concepts like modularity, repairability, and designing with disassembly in mind. Neuroaesthetics seems to be a strategy for tapping into peoples innate prefrences for certain colors, materials, and finishes. But could also instigate behavior change, by tapping into the emotional layer of circularity? Absolutely, it can be surprisingly comforting, even if the materials are unexpected. When designing a circular product, youre often working with waste, like a polymer thats meant to circulate between cars. The challenge is making that material feel good, both emotionally and physically. What works is embracing the materials character, maybe it has a soft texture or a slight irregularity, like a grain or uneven thread. Or it comes in a natural color that feels ultra-fresh. These little details shift the focus from what it is to how it makes you feel. You might not even realize its recycled plastic, but it just feels right. Sometimes, a car interior can feel like a cozy cabin, all because of the right textures and tones. That emotional layer is what really connects circularity.How could neuroaesthetics help make people comfortable with something new, like self-driving cars? Its really about how shapes, colors and textures support the digital experience; all the micro-details working together to help the user feel at ease. Ive been testing self-driving vehicles recently, and its surprising how much the environment impacts your reaction. In one case, the layout was minimal, with just the right number of buttons, and that simplicity helped me relax. But I also tested a car that was entirely gray, and it felt dull and dated. Light tones or soft gradients, something that evokes a sunrise or sunset, can go a long way in making the space feel more inviting.With automation, trust becomes a key part of the brief. How easily will someone understand whats happening? Are they okay letting go of the wheel? Thats where CMF design needs to be fully integrated. I have to work closely with the interior and UX designers so that everything speaks the same language. If I propose a soft, natural palette and the shapes are cold or aggressive, it creates a disconnect.[AI Image: courtesy Lyse Martel]Can you share how you use AI in your work, or how AI factors into the CMF design process? Its part of my creative process in that it helps me visualize materials, colors, and sensory experiences Im considering for a project. Its a great way to communicate an idea visually, and also to put it out there so someone else can pick it up and build on it. So for me, its really a tool that helps us be more precise in how we express and share ideas.There are also really promising use cases in circular design, where AI can help us map local resources and integrate them more intelligently into products. For example, theres a lot of bamboo in China, linen in the north of France, or paper waste around Berlin. So what can we do with that knowledge? We can see where materials are available, but also think about how to reduce waste, predict life cycles, or imagine new reuse scenarios. Anything that involves localizing or optimizing can be supported by AI.And as the digital world increasingly shapes the physical one, I think theres real potential in using these new, hyper-sensory AI-generated visuals to inspire physical experiences. Neuroaesthetics helps us design for emotion, and AI can help translate those emotional cues into visual concepts that, when made real, feel meaningful and multi-sensory. Do you ever get any pushback for the decisions that you or your team might make as CMF designers? Sometimes theres a strong reaction to a particular color or material choice. I remember working on a concept car called Eve, developed with a strong focus on emerging markets and innovative design languages. I proposed an exterior in a rose gold tone, which could be read as pink. That sparked some discomfort in the room. I think it challenged certain expectations of what a car should look like, especially in Western automotive culture. But in China, rose gold is often associated with refinement and quality. Its not seen as gendered in the same way. So for me, it was an opportunity to bring a fresh, culturally relevant aesthetic into the project. I understood the hesitation, but thats part of the role. Sometimes CMF invites us to gently shift the visual language and open up new emotional possibilities.[Image: Felix Godard Design]Are there certain colors and finishes that are timeless and others that are more transitory? In the last decade we used a lot of neutrals, like beige and gray. Many brands also decided to shape themselves around their core colorsour black, our white, etc. And they would build up from there to include more exciting colors into their identity. Today I see those approaches being challenged. Gen Z is coming in and they have other ideas about whats fresh. In the past few years we saw a lot of yellows. Recently, dark reds have been popping up everywhere, and theyre a powerful, timeless choice that adds richness and sophistication. These colors grab attention and can work well, but we need to be mindful of their relevance for long-term products.I believe there is still a need for that core timelessness. You might use black as a core color, but you might tint it blue to make it more interesting or less intense. When I was at Bang & Olufsen, we often discussed how to stand out from typical black consumer electronics. For a more lifestyle-oriented, subtle design in the home, why not use gray?[Image: courtesy NIO]Are you ever surprised when a particular color takes off? The latest Pantone color of the year is a brown-beige shade, which honestly surprised me. Ive used warm grays before when I wanted to give a product a cozier, inviting feel, but this one doesnt feel as fresh to me. Im not sure it resonates with the moment in the same way other trends do. I love when a heritage brand takes an unexpected turn, like the paper company GF Smith, which recently rebranded with vibrant, poppy colrs and introduced a bespoke, rounded sans-serif typeface, GF Smith Homie. I like to see they are brushing off the history to embrace different values and just be human. They want to stand for inclusivity, so theyre going to speak up about that and make sure its seen in the brand.Where do you draw creative inspiration? Its really what makes me burn, what is calling my heart. I also need to talk to peoplenot only creatives, but people from all walks of life. I enjoy traveling through my city and looking at how people live. I learn a lot simply from riding the train, overhearing conversations, and observing how the mood changes with the seasons. I also read the news and check out certain magazines. Theres one I like, Imagine5, that focuses on how to make sustainability joyful. It explores that from all angles and its very accessible. You dont have to be a sustainability expert to enjoy it. [Image: courtesy NIO]Could you share some of the projects youve worked on that youre most proud of? I joined the global smart EV brand NIO in its early stages, when the brand vision was still taking shape, and contributed to the initial direction of color, materials, and finishes as part of the design team. The objective was to align with their vision of Blue Sky Coming, so we had to come up with progressive aesthetics and human-centered design, which later evolved into design principles. Shaping that brand was extremely rich for me in terms of learning and collaborating with so many talented designers. I also led a couple of projects one was the previously mentioned concept car called Eve. I had the opportunity to introduce more natural materials and different colors that were not commonly used in the automotive space.Introducing new aesthetics became an important theme for my later work with Bang & Olufsen, which was about connecting the dots between sound and material and design. And then more recently, the circularity project Ive been leading for Volkswagen Group is really close to my heart. The brief was to introduce longevity, adaptability, and recyclability across all design touch points for Volkswagen. To that end we provided creative direction that considered everything from exterior design, interior, user experience, and materiality.It was an interesting challenge to find the emotional layer of circularity, while staying on brand for Volkswagen. Circularity has a lot of very technical aspects, but as designers we can make circularity tangible. How do you deal with mistakes or failure in the creative process? I view mistakes or failure as an opportunity to test more, to rethink, and to reframe. If a design doesnt work, how can we regroup and find a solution thats way more interesting and beyond the obvious? In the creative process there can be a lot of fear associated with going against the grain. What Ive noticed is that if we stay in that fear space, we close ourselves off to opportunities. Its important to be in an open space of creativity and curiosity. Allow mistakes and failure to happen. When there is joy in the process and a strong intuition, you produce better results in the end. What advice would you give to aspiring designers, but also anyone who wants to enter the world you inhabit? Great design comes from a constantly growing and inspired mind. Stay curious and know that inspiration comes from everywhere. Embrace your uniqueness, but also be able to evolve from that. Be open to change and to new perspectives. There will be tough feedback and creative disagreements, but the important thing is how you receive those situations. Maintain a mindset of abundance and try to see the positive in anything you do. Finally, as creatives its important for us to take time alone to recharge, to reflect, and to work on our magic. When youre feeling well and thriving individually, your creativity also does. At that point its crucial to rejoin the collective, where you have a chance to collaborate and experience the diversity of perspectives that fuels creativity. It can be a tough road for aspiring designers, but I would encourage them to proceed with care and openness, and to leave their fears behind.
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In less than two weeks, on June 9, Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), in which it will showcase the next versions of the operating systems that power its myriad devices. The centerpiece of that event will be iOS 26, the soon-to-be renumbered operating system that powers the companys flagship product, the iPhone. Yet, despite artificial intelligence being all the rage in the tech industry right now, reports say that with iOS 26 (formerly referred to as iOS 19see below), Apple will promote something visual instead of artificial. While some new AI features may be baked into the newly renumbered OS, the key feature of iOS 26 will be its complete visual redesign. In other words, your iPhones software is about to look strikingly different. Heres how. Welcome to the solariumand iOS 26 Two big changes are coming to the next iOS. The first is a naming rebrand. Historically, iOS versions were numbered sequentially, starting with “iPhone OS 1” for the original iPhone in 2007. With the iPhone’s 2010 operating systemits fourth versionApple shortened the name to “iOS 4.” However, Bloomberg reports that starting with the new iOS Apple will debut on June 9, the company will drop the sequential numbering of the operating system, and go with the year it will spill over into, just like carmakers do with vehicles. So, despite being the 19th version, the upcoming iOS will no longer be called “iOS 19” and will instead be called “iOS 26.” This change will be carried over to the numbering system on all of Apple’s other operating systems, too, and is reportedly being done to provide a more uniform numbering scheme for its various software products (currently numbered macOS 16, iPadOS 18, and visionOS 2, etc), and make it easier for consumers to identify if they are running the latest device software. However, the rebranded iOS naming scheme is a relatively minor change compared to what else Apple has in store for iOS 19sorry, iOS 26. That change is a radical visual redesign of the operating system. Most of what is currently known about iOS 26s visual overhaul comes from two sources: Bloombergs Mark Gurman and Jon Prosser, host of the Front Page Tech YouTube channel. Both have reported on iOS 26s major redesign, and their reports largely align, suggesting that they are, at least in part, accurate. So what will iOS 26 look like? Its internal codenamesomething Apple assigns to every software product in developmentgives us a big clue. That name is solarium, Bloomberg reported. If youre wondering what a solarium is, know that youve probably stood in one if you’ve ever been to an interior garden. It’s a room fitted with glass walls and ceilings, designed to let as much sunlight as possible filter in. Apple presumably chose the solarium codename for iOS 26 because the entire operating system will have a glass-like appearance. By glass-like, think of an operating system with elements like menus and toolbars that are partially transparentyou can see through them, and the colors and shapes of content behind them will show through, just like light shows through a solariums glass walls. If this sounds vaguely familiar to you, its because Apple has actually used similar transparency in one of its operating systems beforevisionOS, the software that powers the Apple Vision Pro. Indeed, reports suggest that iOS 19s design is inspired by visionOS. But visionOS powers a spatial computing deviceone that melds the physical world with the digital. That 3D interface relies heavily on digital drop shadows and other visual tricks to re-create the feeling of physical depth. However, an iPhones operating system runs on a 2D screen, so dont expect iOS 26 to feature heavy digital dropshadows. If you want to see how Apple will handle transparent elements on a 2D device, you dont have to wait until June 9. Instead, simply check out Apples new Invites app, which it launched in February. You can see a screenshot of it above. See how different the UI looks in the app from the UI of iOS 18 currently? Those glassy panes in the app give the best visual hint of what to expect system-wide in iOS 26. Another reported feature of the redesign is reflective buttons and other elements that shimmer when you move your phone. This shimmering isnt caused by real light hitting your iPhones screen. Rather, the software can tell, thanks to your iPhones gyroscope, when the device is moving and tilting in your hand, and will thus generate a reflective light effect across buttons to give the translucent objects more depth and form. It will probably be very similar to how the home screen icons in tvOS, the operating system that powers the Apple TV, appear to shimmer when you gently swipe them with your thumb using the Siri Remotes touchpad. iOS 26 is also expected to gain other major visual changes, including floating pill-shaped toolbars (replacing the fixed toolbars used at the bottom of iPhone apps now), thinner buttons, a glass-like keyboard, and potentially even rounder app icons. Whats behind the iOS 26 visual shakeup? Those who have reportedly seen builds of iOS 26 say the redesign that Apple is set to unveil in less than two weeks represents the most significant visual overhaul to the iPhones operating system since iOS 7 in 2013a design that has largely persisted through and to the current iOS 18. Indeed, Bloombergs Mark Gurman has called the redesign tranformative, stating that it is one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the companys history while noting that it will fundamentally change the look of iOS. But here’s one thing about change: most people hate itor are at least apprehensive about it. And Apple has a lot of people to contend with. It has more than two billion active devices around the world, used by hundreds of millions of users, and the switch isnt coming to just the iPhones operating system, but to the operating systems of all of Apples devices this fall, including the iPads iPadOS, the Macs macOS, the Apple Watchs watchOS, the Apple TVs tvOS, and the Vision Pros visionOS (all renumbered to “26,” too). But Apple reportedly feels it needs to deliver something this year with iOS and its other operating systems that is, quite literally, eye-catching. It needs something special to help reinvigorate device sales, particularly after the flagship feature of iOS 18, Apple Intelligence, has largely been met with indifference by the average consumer and disappointment by AI aficionados. In January, respected TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that there was no evidence to suggest that Apple Intelligence was driving hardware upgrade cycles among consumers. In Apple’s most recent financial report, from its second quarter, iPhone revenue rose about 2% from the same period a year earlier, to $46.8 billion, but that growth may have been driven by U.S. consumers snapping up the device before Trumps tariffs make iPhones more costly, notes Sherwood. Putting a new digital coat of paint on iOS 26 and the companys other new operating systems is an easy way to make its devices feel fresh againand, if done right, it can go a long way to actually making the ever-increasingly complicated operating systems more straightforward to use and easier to navigate. By incorporating the same design language used in iOS 26 into its other products, the redesigned interface may make users feel more familiar with Apples other devices, which could help spur sales of Macs or Apple TVs to people who currently only own iPhones. The iOS 26 redesign may also help distract from the fact that Apple isnt expected to make any significant announcements regarding its AI platform, Apple Intelligence, at WWDC. Despite the early reports about iOS 26s visual changes, we wont know anything for sure until Apple unveils a preview of the upcoming operating system at WWDC on June 9. Speaking of that event: Apples logo for WWDC25 may be teasing the iOS 26 redesign in plain sight. If you check out the animated logo here, youll notice that the ends of the transparent, glass-like rainbow seem to show colored light reflecting through its surfacejust like youd see at a solarium.
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Hiring managers arent convinced that master’s degree holders perform better than candidates with two years of work experience, but they are still willing to pay them more. Thats according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. hiring managers conducted by Resume Genius. Fifty-two percent of respondents said the performance of those who earn the credential is the same as those with a bachelor’s degree plus two years of work experience. Another 10% believe its worse. A master’s degree simply isn’t experience; it’s knowledge, explains Resume Genius career expert Nathan Soto. So much practical know-how can only be learned by doing the job, and higher education doesn’t prepare people for work. It prepares them for even higher levels of academic study. The survey also suggests a significant discrepancy in how different generations view the degree, with more than double the proportion of Gen Z hiring managers29% in totalsuggesting it leads to stronger performance, compared with just 13% of Boomers. As Baby Boomers age out of the workforce, it suggests that the proportion of hiring managers who value master’s degrees is growing, Soto says. Despite the broad skepticism over its value, 72% of hiring managers say they offer master’s degree holders higher salaries. In fact, one in four say they offer 20% more to candidates with the degree. This may be reason enough to get one, Soto says. Wage premiums arent keeping up with tuition At the same time, Soto points out that the cost of higher education has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Coupled with a one- or two-year delay entering the workforce, he warns that getting a return on that investment is far from certain. If you can afford to complete a master’s degree without incurring a crushing amount of debt, then there are real benefits, he says. However, people in fields without strict master’s degree requirements would be better off entering their chosen profession and then deciding whether or not a master’s degree is essential to their own professional advancement. According to data from the Economic Policy Institute, those with a bachelor’s degree earn roughly 20% more in hourly wages than those without, and master’s degree holders earn an additional 20% on average. Real hourly wages have grown both for workers with just a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree by about the same amountabout 35% over the last 33 years, says Economic Policy Institute senior economist Elise Gould, explaining that her data set goes back to 1992. The differential between a master’s and a bachelor’s degree has been pretty constant as well. Workers with a master’s degree are paid about 20% more than a worker with only a bachelor’s degree. Gould adds that during that time the cost of obtaining a degree has skyrocketed, but the relative earning potential has remained relatively unchanged. The data are about averages. I think it is really about individuals, their resources, their time, what they’re going to study and their objectives, she says. All those factors should be taken into account. Not all master’s degrees are made the same On average, a slight majority of master’s degrees pay for themselves over time, however, positive returns are far less likely compared to other degree types, and depend more heavily on factors like field of study, institution, and location. According to a 2024 study by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, or FREOPP, 57% of master’s degree earners experience a positive return on their investment, compared with 77% of bachelor’s, doctoral, and professional degree earners. That’s actually overstating the performance of master’s degrees, because the positive ROI is heavily concentrated in nursing, explains FREOPP founder Avik Roy. The average master’s degree outside of nursing has a negative ROI. According to the FREOPP studywhich compares College Scorecard data against wage, occupation, and geography data published by the Census Bureau in the American Community Surveythere is a significant discrepancy in return potential between master’s programs. Nearly 40% of MBA programs, for example, have negative returns, on average. However, there is a significantly higher chance of a positive ROI for those who attend a top-10 ranked business school. Technical programs, like engineering and computer science, were also more likely to offer a return on their investment than not. Humanities occupied the most spots on the other end of the spectrum, with film school standing out for offering the lowest median returns. If you’re pursuing a master’s degree in nursing, computer science, or engineering, the likely return on that is very positive, Roy says. If you’re outside of those fields of study, buyer beware.
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