What I learnt at a 5-day design retreat in Mexico

Last week, I spent five days at a design retreat in Merida, Mexico, with some of the industry's most famous names. I didn´t know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be different.

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The event opened with a blessing from a shaman and a laser show, followed by octopus tacos. The next days were a cenote trip, intimate talks, amazing art installations, musical performances, a running club, workshops, a food tour, a treasure hunt, and a trip to the beach.
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Not your average conference.
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All this was interspersed with serendipitous meetings, chance conversations and new friends. I even ended up on stage with Erin Sarofsky (Sarofsky) and Marti Romance (Territory co-founder) taking part in an AI panel whilst drinking Mezcal.

So what did I learn after spending intimate conversations with some of the most famous names in the creative industry? ​
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Imposter syndrome never goes away, even when you're at the top of the industry, the struggle with well-being, burnout and mindset continues and having honest open conversations is invaluable.
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Creativity is deeply human, super inspiring and also very healing. AI will continue to progress and feel like a threat but creativity is priceless. It's hard and chaotic and many times we find ourselves on a path which we don't know where it leads.
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Creativity is important, valuable and inspiring and it deserves to be actively worked on. The most interesting work doesn't come from trying to please others but from looking inside and following your passion and maybe even you pain.
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If you do that for long enough one day you might just make a damn good living from it.

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Get Inspired

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dmytro @grinkevych Last year, I made 50+ realistic tea tasting notes icons with Midjourney for a client managing a Japanese tea shop. The whole thing turned out pretty fun, so here is a quick breakdown with close-ups. 1/🧵 11:49 AM • Mar 20, 2025 150 Retweets 3047 Likes Read 64 replies

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Only people with Myopia can see the hidden text below

To promote eye care awareness for World Optometry Day (March 23), 1001 Optometry launched "The Hidden Eye Test" campaign in collaboration with VML and AI artist Prospex Park. The campaign uses AI to create ads with hidden messages that are only visible to those with impaired vision, encouraging them to get their eyes tested.

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LEARN

Everyone in AI is talking about MCP (Model Context Protocol) but what is it?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an emerging open-source standard from Anthropic.
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AI models are increasingly intelligent but often lack direct access to up-to-date external data sources and tools, which limits their potential.
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The MCP provides a standardized way for LLMs to communicate with diverse data sources, such as Google Drive, GitHub, or databases, enabling more customized responses and actions.

Unlike traditional APIs, which often require unique implementations for each service, MCP acts as a standardized intermediary layer.

It defines a protocol that translates diverse data formats into a language LLMs can understand, simplifying integration. For example, if a database field name changes, a traditional API might break, requiring an update. With MCP, only the MCP server needs updating, preserving the LLM's connection.

MCP marketplaces streamline this process, offering collections of high-quality MCP servers to choose. These MCPs empower AI agents to select and integrate necessary tools, allowing more flexible and powerful AI systems.

Basically MCP's are opening up more data and tool use to AI systems which is an important step on the road to AI bots.
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