A Day in the Life of Kae Neskovic, Executive Creative Director at Superside

A Typical Day

A lot of my day revolves around working closely with my team. As an executive creative director at Superside, a creative service combining human creativity with AI innovation, I know that communication is key to keeping everything running smoothly. This can take the form of one-on-one meetings, team catch-ups, creative workshops, or brainstorming sessions.

I know that meetings often get a bad rap, but I’m a fan when they’re done right. They’re an opportunity to foster creativity and alignment, especially in a remote environment. To make the most of these meetings, I like to create space in my schedule for deep creative work, whether that’s through a quick workout or a walk outside. Sometimes, the best ideas come when I’m not actively trying to find them.

As part of my role, I also think about how we can continue to elevate our creative processes in a remote-first setting. How do we keep the team energized? How do we foster collaboration across time zones? These questions shape my day-to-day decisions.

Early Career

I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember. In high school, I was into graffiti, and one day, a well-known graffiti artist introduced me to Adobe’s Illustrator. It was a revelation. I was hooked immediately and began exploring design in every way I could – creating posters for friends, experimenting with illustrations, and teaching myself the basics.

I went to university in Venice, Italy, and after that, I started working at a design studio. That’s where I truly fell in love with branding. I was fortunate to have a boss who was an expert in the technical side of design – print, typography, layout – and they shared so much of that knowledge with me. It felt like I was attending an unofficial school of design, and those skills became the foundation of my approach to creative work.

Challenging Work-Related Experience

One of the most challenging aspects of creative work – especially branding – is managing client feedback. Branding is high-stakes for any company, and because of that, it often involves leadership teams and a lot of strong emotions. It’s not always easy, but I believe that open communication and active listening are key to navigating these situations.

Industry Development

Two key areas come to mind:

• Valuing design as a strategic partner – Too often, design is treated as a production arm of marketing rather than a critical component of strategy. We need to advocate for our seat at the table and use data to showcase the value we bring.
• Changing the toxic agency culture – The cliché of the overworked, underappreciated creative is still alive and well. Agencies are often put in impossible situations, leading to long hours, micromanagement, and vague feedback. While this isn’t always due to bad intentions, it’s a cycle we need to break.

As an industry, we need to prioritize fairness, work-life balance, and respect for the creative process. Ultimately, happier teams produce better work.

AI and Creativity

Can AI and human creativity truly coexist? Absolutely. AI is a reflection of human creativity – it’s built on the ingenuity and teamwork of countless people. Far from replacing creativity, it enhances it.

Favourite Tools

• Figma – It’s revolutionized global collaboration and made workflows seamless.
• Runway – Perfect for putting creative work in motion and creating videos.
• Virtual Electric – Their canvas approach to image generation is fantastic.

Dream Project

I’d love to work on a high-profile creative campaign for a company like Nike or Spotify. Imagine inventing the next Spotify Wrapped or something equally innovative that feels like a festival – it would be an amazing challenge.

Career Advice

Be braver. Trust yourself and your voice – it matters more than you think. Advocate for yourself and don’t hesitate to take risks. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Reach out, learn from others, and focus on the process, not just the outcome. Creativity is about iteration – don’t get too attached to individual pieces of work. Sometimes the best thing you can do is delete it and start fresh.

FAQs

Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in design?
A: I was introduced to Adobe’s Illustrator in high school, and it was a revelation. I was hooked immediately and began exploring design in every way I could.

Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?
A: Managing client feedback. It’s high-stakes, and it often involves leadership teams and strong emotions. Open communication and active listening are key.

Q: How do you stay creative?
A: I make time for self-reflection, whether that’s through exercise, meditation, or simply taking a walk. Sometimes the best ideas come when I’m not actively trying to find them.

Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career?
A: Be brave. Trust yourself and your voice – it matters more than you think. Advocate for yourself and don’t hesitate to take risks.

The Case for Best Poster Design: A New Academy Award Category

Why it’s Time to Recognize the Art of Movie Posters

There are plenty of absent Academy Award categories that filmmakers and fans have been begging to instate over the years, including stunt coordination, main title design, and casting. That last one is finally happening next year, proving that the Academy does sometimes listen. And for our money, the next new category should be Best Poster Design.

A Resurgence in Creativity

For a while back in the 2010s, it looked like poster design innovation might be stalling. Thanks to Marvel, the proliferation of the ‘floating head’ design seemed all-encompassing. But things have changed in recent years, with creativity making a comeback. Many of the films nominated for Oscars in 2025 featured truly stunning posters, with some even giving the best movie posters ever a run for their money.

Examples of Exceptional Poster Design

One such example is the poster for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Kinds of Kindness, which was truly stunning. The design features dreamscapes, a classily curated color palette, and a recurring aesthetic of bizarre repeating or oversized heads. These were some of the most unforgettable posters we saw over the last twelve months.

Another standout is the poster for Alien Romulus, which plays on the nostalgia of the Alien series, reviving one of its most iconic enemies. The design feels subdued and stylish in its quietly disturbing imagery, with the red and black color palette adding an additional sense of horror and tension, giving the poster a chilling graphic feel.

Retro Revival

And then there’s the poster for La Chimera, which takes us back to Drew Struzan’s famous posters for the ’70s and ’80s. The hand-painted collage is beautifully rendered, and despite featuring a bunch of floating heads, we don’t have a bad word to say about it.

A Vibrant 80s Vibe

The poster for Challengers, last year’s hugely popular Zendaya-fronted tennis flick, has an extravagantly maximalist 80s vibe, with viewers quick to point out the resemblance to several posters from that era, such as Risky Business.

Conclusion

While it might be too much to hope for the biggest filmmaking award ceremony to start honoring graphic design, it would certainly be nice to see some of the stunning artistry that accompanies the films themselves given a nod. In the meantime, we can continue to appreciate the incredible work of movie poster designers.

FAQs

Q: Why should the Academy consider a Best Poster Design category?
A: Recognizing the art of movie poster design would acknowledge the importance of visual storytelling and the impact it has on film marketing and promotion.

Q: What are some examples of exceptional poster design?
A: The posters for Kinds of Kindness, Alien Romulus, La Chimera, and Challengers are just a few examples of the stunning work being done in movie poster design.

Q: Why is it important to recognize the creative work of movie poster designers?
A: By acknowledging the artistry and creativity that goes into designing movie posters, the Academy can encourage more innovative and engaging visual storytelling in the film industry.

Shrek 5: A New Look for the Beloved Franchise

A Shift in Animation Style

There’s been some criticism of the new look of Shrek 5. A short trailer suggests that DreamWorks has switched to a cleaner animation style, while some say the characters look more cartoony, with more rounded shapes and bigger eyes. The change in animation style may not come as a surprise, given that it’s been 14 years since Shrek Forever After in 2010, and the new Shrek looks to be more in line with the style of DreamWorks’ more recent films.

A Technical Difference

However, the variation isn’t just because of changing trends (and the fact that DreamWorks is now part of NBCUniversal): there’s a significant technical difference too. One reason for the new Shrek look is that since the last film, DreamWorks has switched to the open-source rendering engine MoonRay, which it first used on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World back in 2019. This departure allows for more realistic and accurate lighting and smoother textures. It’s also allowed DreamWorks to refine character features, which is likely to be the reason for the differences in Shrek’s ears, mouth, and nose.

Comparison: Shrek 4 and Shrek 5

The images below show a comparison between the original Shrek 4 and the new Shrek 5. The differences are striking, with Shrek and Fiona’s daughter looking particularly different.

MoonRay: The Key to the New Look

As we noted in our own MoonRay review, the tool boasts high-performance Monte Carlo ray tracing, which is what delivers DreamWorks’ stylized look and photorealism. Like Pixar’s Renderman, MoonRay is available to everyone, but unlike Renderman, it’s totally free of charge.

The Cast of Shrek 5

Shrek 5 reunites much of the original Shrek cast, with Mike Myers voicing Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Fiona. Zendaya will voice Shrek and Fiona’s daughter.

Conclusion

The new look of Shrek 5 has sparked controversy, but it’s clear that DreamWorks is pushing the boundaries of animation technology to create a more realistic and stylized look. With the use of MoonRay, the company is able to deliver a more accurate and detailed visual experience. We can’t wait to see how the final product turns out.

FAQs

Q: What is MoonRay?
A: MoonRay is an open-source rendering engine developed by DreamWorks, which boasts high-performance Monte Carlo ray tracing.

Q: How does MoonRay differ from Renderman?
A: MoonRay is free of charge, unlike Renderman, which is a proprietary software.

Q: What changes can we expect to see in Shrek 5?
A: With the use of MoonRay, Shrek 5 is expected to have a more realistic and accurate lighting and texture, as well as refined character features.

Xiaomi 15 Review: A Flagship-Killing Camera Phone?

Introduction

The Xiaomi 15 has been officially launched worldwide, following its announcement at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The phone has been making waves in the tech world, with its impressive camera specifications and performance capabilities. As someone who was blown away by the Xiaomi 14, I’m excited to put the 15 through its paces and see if it can outdo its predecessor and become a mainstream rival to the Samsung Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16.

Design and Display

The phone’s design is similar to the iPhone 16, with rounded corners, a sturdy aluminum frame, and a bright 6.36-inch screen. However, the Xiaomi 15 promises better performance and camera capabilities at a lower price point.

Camera

The camera array is where the 15 truly shines, thanks to its collaboration with Leica. The 23mm Leica 1-inch main camera features a 50MP Sony LYT-900 image sensor for exceptional clarity and detail. Paired with a Leica Summilux optical lens, it offers a large f/1.63 aperture, variable focal lengths of 23mm, 28mm, and 35mm, and an impressive 14EV high dynamic range. This ensures stunning performance in low-light and night-time scenarios, capturing vivid and true-to-life images.

Additional Camera Features

The phone also boasts a 70mm Leica floating telephoto camera, perfect for portrait and street photography, as well as a 100mm Leica 200MP ultra-telephoto camera, making it easy to capture distant objects with a focal length of 100mm, extendable to 200mm using in-sensor zoom technology. Finally, a 14mm Leica ultra-wide camera offers expansive perspectives for capturing breathtaking landscapes and group shots.

Performance

The phone’s performance is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile chipset, with a reported 45% CPU performance boost and 52% reduction in power consumption, as well as a 44% GPU performance boost and 46% power consumption decrease.

Price and Availability

The Xiaomi 15 will be available from £899, with the 15 Ultra variant priced at £1,299.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi 15 is an impressive flagship phone that offers exceptional camera capabilities and performance at a lower price point than its competitors. With its impressive camera array, powerful processor, and sleek design, it’s a strong contender in the camera-phone space.

FAQs

Q: What is the price of the Xiaomi 15?
A: The Xiaomi 15 will be available from £899.

Q: What is the price of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra?
A: The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be available from £1,299.

Q: What is the camera array like on the Xiaomi 15?
A: The camera array features a 23mm Leica 1-inch main camera, 70mm Leica floating telephoto camera, 100mm Leica 200MP ultra-telephoto camera, and 14mm Leica ultra-wide camera.

Q: What is the processor like on the Xiaomi 15?
A: The processor is the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile chipset, offering a 45% CPU performance boost and 52% reduction in power consumption, as well as a 44% GPU performance boost and 46% power consumption decrease.