Today’s Highlights

• AI: Run your App Code within ChatGPT

• Design: Employing Psychology in UI/UX Design

• Science & Tech: Moving your body grows Neurons

• Founding: How to sell as a Newbie?

• Product: Customer Requests: A Path Carved Into their Brains

• Today’s AI image: Psychological Nuances Harnessed by Designers

• Quote for the day: From One Day by David Nicholls

AI

Run your App Code within ChatGPT

A reliable X user has once again spotted an exciting feature before it’s officially rolled out—OpenAI is reportedly testing the ability to run code directly within ChatGPT, much like Claude’s Artifacts.

Languages on Deck: For now, it looks like Python, Javascript, and Typescript are going to be starters for the feature.

Why is this a big deal?

This update isn’t just about writing code—it’s about running full-fledged applications inside ChatGPT. Imagine building and testing your next app without leaving the platform. Almost zero friction.

App ideas can be executed in bulk since the most itchy barriers of execution can now be overcome. Simply put, app prototyping can be carried out more seamlessly than ever with minimal costs attached.

So make some space, Claude. ChatGPT’s here, too.

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Also in AI

• Apple's new iOS feature uses on-device AI to summarize notifications, especially for active group chats

• AI Robot that can assist in surgery: Learns from videos of surgeons

• Apple plans to launch a 6-inch wall-mounted smart home display with AI features, including Siri integration for managing appliances, video calls, and music

• Claude finds the greeting “Yo!” inappropriate: A quirky safety mechanism

• Slack’s Survey on AI Adoption in the Workplace: 17,000 office workers revealed a slowdown in workplace AI adoption

• 210 Case Studies from Microsoft: illustrates how diverse organizations use AI in real-world business applications

• Research to identify biasness of AI with respect to people: Data of responses from AI tools for the prompt “imagine a person”

Design

Employing Psychology in UI/UX Design

Great design is more than pretty pictures—it’s about understanding how users think and feel. When designers harness psychology, interfaces don’t just look good, they work smoothly, soothing the user experience at a deep, intuitive level.

Psychological Principles to Apply:

• Hick’s Law: The fewer options, the easier the choice. Netflix nails this by limiting categories, easing the viewers from decision fatigue.

• Fitts’s Law: Bigger is better. Make important buttons large, pressing and accessible (think “Buy Now” or “Sign Up”) for a smoother experience.

• Gestalt Principles: Grouping similar items visually helps users understand relationships between elements—think IKEA's layout.

• Serial Position Effect: Users remember what they see first and last. So, placing key actions at the beginning or end of lists can boost visibility.

Engagement and Motivation:

• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: Reward users internally (the satisfaction of a task completed) and externally (like badges or discounts) to keep them hooked.

• Gamification: Add playful elements like streaks, levels, or rewards to make interactions feel like a fun challenge.

• Real-time Feedback: Let users know they’ve done something right—because who likes wondering if their click actually worked?

Reducing Cognitive Load:

• Minimize Complexity: Keep things simple. Don’t overwhelm users with endless options. Google’s homepage? A masterpiece of minimalism.

• Chunk Information: Break things down into bite-sized chunks so users don’t feel overwhelmed—think bullet points and short paragraphs.

• Clear Navigation: Make sure users always know where they are and where they’re going. Spotify and Airbnb do this seamlessly with clear, labeled sections.

• Progressive Disclosure: Show only what’s needed, hiding advanced info until it’s required, like in mobile banking apps.

Conclusion

Effective UI/UX design isn’t just about making something adorable—it’s about making it smart, emotional, and user-friendly. By applying psychological principles, designers can create experiences that feel effortless and hooky, turning users into loyal fans.

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Also in Design

• Guggenheim Museum’s New Logo: designed by the agency Order, reflects its spiral architectural form

• Apple’s Mac Mini M4 Power Button Design: moved the power button to the bottom

• Instagram’s removed the “Rug Pull” Feature: Relieves countless frustrated users

• Rolling Stone Magazine’s Typeface Redesign: blends modern and traditional aesthetics

• AI-Powered Visual Storytelling Tool: A new tool to transform ideas or scripts into detailed storyboards

• Focus Outlines for Accessibility: Guidelines for custom focus outlines in design, enhancing accessibility with WCAG standards

Science & Tech

Moving your body grows Neurons

Our bodies are meant to move. Meant to be engaged in a day-to-day dance. And when our body moves, a thousand wonders are created within. All acting in favour of our healing.

MIT engineers have recently shown that exercise not only strengthens muscles but also spurs nerve growth.

Muscle contractions release myokines, which trigger nerve growth at a cellular level, with neurons growing 4x faster when exposed to these signals.

A New Path for Nerve Repair

This muscle-nerve communication discovery could open doors for therapies targeting nerve damage, like in traumatic injuries or neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., ALS). Stimulating muscles might help heal nerves and restore mobility.

Next Steps

MIT's research paves the way for using targeted muscle stimulation to grow and repair damaged nerves, advancing "exercise as medicine."

Innovative Methods

The team used light to mimic exercise, contracting muscle tissue, and created a gel mat to simulate the mechanical effects of exercise on nerve growth, marking a unique breakthrough in understanding muscle's role in nerve regeneration.

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Also in Science & Tech

• Cannabinol (CBN), a compound in aged cannabis, has shown effectiveness in curing sleeplessness

• A new study shows global temperatures have increased by 1.49°C (2.6°F) above preindustrial levels, nearing the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement

• Apple is working on an advanced smart home product featuring a robotic arm

• Amazon is testing its new Trainium 2 AI chips with companies like Anthropic and Databricks to reduce dependency on Nvidia

• Alphabet's Waymo brought public driverless taxis in LA

Founders

How to sell as a Newbie Founder?

As a founder, you would like to keep delegating tasks as your startup climbs up the size ladder. Unlike other repetitive business functions like accounting, purchase and production, you cannot get rid of the sales burden early on in your startup journey by simply hiring a salesperson.

YOU, the ideator and the creator of the product, know your product like your child. Hence, you yourself have to intervene in selling for quite long.

And during this walk, you will counter various challenges. Here’s three most common ones and a brief guide on how to solve them-

Problem #1 – Securing Meetings

↳ Getting That First Call: Requesting someone’s time without a prior relationship is tough, but personal connections make it easier.

↳ Approach Tips:

• Start with friends and ex-colleagues who might find your product relevant.

• Use social media and community posts to build interest publicly.

• Avoid impersonal, generic messaging; custom notes on LinkedIn or cold emails yield better results.

Problem #2 – Navigating the Discussion

↳ Know the Meeting Type: Sales meetings are for addressing objections; don’t treat them like product feedback sessions.

↳ Lead with a Smile: Open with some rapport and structure the meeting to keep things light and efficient.

↳ Be Yourself: Embrace your “non-salesy” founder persona—it’s disarming and helps build trust.

Problem #3 – The Final Push

↳ Chart the Path: Ask your potential customer what they need to get the deal through, ensuring you’re aligned on the next steps.

↳ Multi-threading is Key: Aim to connect with multiple stakeholders in a business; depending on one person increases the risk of falling short.

Final Words of Wisdom

Sales involves many dead-ends; persistence and resilience are non-negotiable. As a founder, stay confident in the value your product brings, even when faced with competition from large players.

Read more

Also in Founding

• Is your tech changing OR growing?

• SaaS is shifting from ARR to Annualised Gross Profit

• Implementing Hyper-Localization to win Markets, one by one

• The Context Matrix: Creating the right context involves gathering data on trends, capabilities, and goals, and interpreting this data effectively for decision-making

Product

Customer Requests in Totality: A Path Carved Into their Brains

See, merely hearing customers out isn’t enough; real listening requires putting aside your biases. When customers request something "faster" or "simpler," they’re sharing a symptom, not the root issue. True listening means immersing in their perspective, asking questions, and digging deep into why they feel that way.

Understanding Beyond Solutions:

• Customers often propose specific solutions. While that’s natural, it’s your job to steer the conversation toward underlying problems, uncovering why they’ve reached that solution in the first place.

• Rather than simply delivering a quick and easy superficial solution, seek out their real pain points—whether it's frustration with efficiency or workflow hurdles—and work to address those instead.

Product Leadership Is About Judgment:

• Product success doesn’t come from just saying "yes" to every customer whim. It’s about thoughtfully balancing feedback with a strategic plan that serves both the customer and the product vision.

• Embrace customer conversations as opportunities to gain insight about the common core needs.

As you open yourself to these dialogues, remember that customer input is a guiding light, not a binding directive.

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Today’s AI Image

Psychological Nuances Harnessed by Designers

Quote of the Day

From One Day by David Nicholls

"Whatever happens tomorrow, we’ve had today."

Emma in the book One Day

What we’re working on

🧞Your wish is my command