🔮 Canva releases “Dream Lab”

This week’s new tools, tutorials, and resources 👇️

• Kajabi: New data revealing how much creators actually make (free report).*

• Open Source Alternative: Find open source alternatives to popular commercial software.

• Crayo AI: Generate viral-ready video clips in seconds —create AI voiceovers, engaging subtitles, optimized gameplay, and more.

• Cool Shapes: 100+ abstract shapes with cool grainy gradients.

• Branded Bills: Create custom hats and merch for your brand.*

Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe for $1.

TOP STORY
🔮 Canva releases “Dream Lab”

This week, Canva launched 40+ new features across its “Visual Suite” as part of its “Droptober” event.

Here’s a quick breakdown of everything that was released 👇️ 

1) Dream Lab 🖼️ 

“Dream Lab” is Canva’s new AI-powered image generator that can transform text prompts into realistic, high-quality visuals.

Using Leonardo.AI’s Phoenix model, Dream Lab brings ideas to life, making it easy to create professional-grade designs, storyboards, and 3D renders.

Users can choose from ready-made styles or customize visuals with their own content.

They can quickly generate and refine multiple images in Canva’s editor for seamless design integration.

2) Polls & Quizzes 💬

Canva released “Polls & Quizzes,” allowing users to create and customize polls and quizzes directly on the platform.

Responses can be submitted in real-time via the Canvas editor or a shared link.

It’s a quick way to collect valuable insights and engage audiences in projects.

3) Custom Mockups 📱

Canva’s new “Custom Mockups” feature (coming soon) lets users turn any image into a professional mockup template in seconds.

Users can choose from a library of templates or use AI to find an ideal backdrop.

4) Branded Captions 🔠 

Canva’s new “Branded Captions” feature allows users to automatically generate and customize captions for videos, making maintaining brand consistency across video content easy.

Users can edit, animate, and style captions to align with their brand’s look and export them directly from Canva for a polished, accessible final product.

5) Interactive Charts 📊 

Canva’s Interactive Charts feature expanded its chart options with new types, such as Area, Radar, Hierarchy, and Statistical Charts, enabling users to transform complex data into engaging visuals.

Plus, users can style charts with their Brand Kit and use seamless transitions like Match & Move for an impactful, professional look.

FROM OUR FRIENDS @ KAJABI
The Reality of the Creator Economy

Kajabi, the leading creator commerce platform, today announces a new brand identity, an expanded suite of digital products, and its latest campaign — The Reality of the Creator Economy — all designed to inspire creators to reclaim their economic power and build businesses on their own terms.

Social platforms make billions from revenue sharing. Yet, most creators aren’t earning a sustainable living. Something’s off. Creators create while platforms profit. Despite creators building the value, platforms are the ones reaping more of the financial rewards.

The data can be viewed at https://kajabi.com/reality-check, but here are some key findings:

• Social platforms made 9X more than they paid out to creators in 2023

• Nearly 50% of creators earn less than $10K in a single year

• Nearly a quarter of creators grind for 2 years before seeing a single dollar. That's 730+ days without a paycheck

• A single TikTok view is only worth $0.00004 on average. That’s a fraction of a cent

• There are 200M creators on social platforms, 0% own their channel.

Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe for $1.

SOUND DESIGN
🎧 ElevenLabs releases “Voice Design”

ElevenLabs’ new “Voice Design” lets you create unique voices using just a text description.

If ElevenLabs’ existing library of over 3,000 voices doesn’t have what you need, type in your own prompt to design a voice tailored to your vision—anything from a deep-voiced yeti to a hushed, eerie witch.

Check out these examples and prompts 👇️

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
🎬 Runway releases “Act-One”

This week, Runway released “Act-One,” a breakthrough tool for creating expressive character animations using just a single video of an actor’s performance.

Unlike traditional animation workflows that rely on complex rigging and motion capture setups, Act-One allows users to capture performances through simple video inputs, preserving realistic eye-lines, micro-expressions, and timing.

This makes it easy to faithfully transfer the essence of a live performance to any character design.

Act-One is currently being rolled out to users, and broader availability is planned soon

FROM OUR FRIENDS @ BRANDED BILLS

Looking to elevate your brand with a custom hat?

Don’t make it just any hat. Make it a Branded Bills hat.

Why? They make quality merch (especially hats) that people actually want to wear.

Don’t just take it from us, here is what one of their recent clients has to say:

“I think Branded Bills is memorable because it is more of a lifestyle brand for us. It’s not just employees wearing them to work or technicians wearing them out in the field; they're wearing them to bowling alleys, sporting events, etc, and they’re repping our brand which is exactly what we want.” Rebecca Ferguson, Empire CAT

Want some more? Get $200 off your first order over $1000 with the code NEWSLETTER.

If this is what you want (and we’re guessing you do), hit up Branded Bills.

Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe for $1.

FROM OUR FRIENDS @ ROKU

Run CTV Ads on Roku This Q5

• “Q5” is a key post-holiday shopping period

• Reach shoppers where they’re streaming – on Roku

• You can run self-serve CTV ads for just $500

Discover CTV performance on Roku

Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe for $1.

📰 Other news you might’ve missed:

• Adobe Fresco is now completely free for all users.

• Midjourney is testing two new features, including an image editor for uploaded images and image re-texturing for exploring materials, surfacing, and lighting.

• Framer released new Form properties, styles, interactions, variant sorting options, and more.

• Notion released Forms, Layouts, Automations, Marketplace, and Notion Mail at its “Make With Notion” event.

• Procreate v5.3.13 introduces support for the latest iPads, preserves layers when dragging multi-layer PSDs into the Gallery, and improves stability for importing photos and exporting animations.

• OpusClip added editor keyboard shortcuts, making it easier to split clips, zoom in/out, adjust the play head, and more effortlessly.

• Figma Pro users can now publish custom slide templates to their teams or as a Community file.

• Suno announced a partnership with Grammy-winning producer Timbaland.

• Freepik's AI image generator now has bulk selection, a “filter by” option, a “My Creations” folder, and new styles.

• Spline now allows you to create AI Voice 3D experiences in real time.

• KREA AI released “Video Extend,” a new feature that lets you extend videos with AI.

• Figma updated its embeds in Notion for Figma, FigJam, or Figma Slides files.