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A stylized, radiant sun setting over a fantastic, colorful landscape.

2025

Year In Review

Posted on December 31, 2025, by Peter Loomis

Introduction

As we approach the new year — and before looking too far ahead — I wanted to pause and reflect.

2025 has been a good one. Despite some challenges, it’s been a year of growth, learning and steady progress. I’m proud of the work done and hopeful about what lies ahead.

In addition to our focus on client work, we also built and strengthened an editorial presence through regular blog posts, broader sharing and our continued monthly newsletter. These efforts have given us a consistent space to explore creativity, evolving tools and real-world workflows with others who share similar interests. We also continued learning and experimenting, expanding into areas such as 360° video, AI-assisted process automation and image generation workflows.

We collaborated on a responsive site update for Praeses, providing desktop and mobile Figma implementation along with web strategy. (Praeses Case Study)

Q1 - Consulting

We began 2025 with several client projects including a responsive site update for software firm Praeses , graphics work for robotic driving systems maker Forterra and a new logo design for Austin Dental Emergency. We were fortunate to work with a long-time friend and colleague Brandon Griffin on most of them.

In addition to consulting, we continued posting new articles to our blog and sending our monthly newsletter Inside Design. We also reinforced our consulting relationships and kept the studio actively engaged in client-related problem solving while setting the stage for expanded creative and technical exploration throughout the year.

An ad for a Forterra AutoDrive Self-Driving System

Top down field of view diagram for Forterra's Rogue Product

Extreme closeup of a digital cherry blossom

1) Forterra Field-of-View (FOV) Diagram 2) Forterra AutoDrive Ad Design. 3) Design used in spring promotions.

Internally, we expanded our capacity with LM Studio and DiffusionBee , two powerful local AI focused applications. LM Studio allows for open source LLM models to be run from a local machine (vs the internet) while DiffusionBee allows for local AI image generation, with no quotas and limited to your machine's processing power instead of by subscription level or some token status.

With larger batches and more potential generation available, the process becomes more about curation and prompt design — engineering, working and refining the directions and related parameters to get a specific, desired result.

Fantastical vision a man standing at the threshold of new futuristic worlds

Much of this work focused on exploring styles, models, filters and samplers to better understand how these settings shape imagery, allowing for more intentional creative direction.

You may enjoy some of these articles from our blog from the first quarter:

Case Study: Responsive Website for AI Software Leader Praeses (1/10/25)
How to Create Stunning AI Art Locally with DiffusionBee (MacOS) (01/19/25)
How to Design a Cohesive Color Palette (2/3/25)
How to Design a Landing Page That Converts (2/10/25)
The Science of Trust in UX/UI Design (2/24/25)
Feeling Burned Out? How to Recover and Thrive in Tech (3/4/25)
Top 5 Ways You Can Use ChatGPT for Your Design Business (3/5/25)
Top 5 Ways to Create Photorealistic Images Using Generative AI (3/25/25)

Digital rendering of higher consciousness, prepared and considered for our blog this year

Q2 - Systems

We continued our work with AI art and image generation during the second quarter. This includes further studies into photorealism and a continued stream of editorial imagery to support our blog and email newsletter. This period expanded internal creative and technical capacity, refining processes and expanding editorial imagery in preparation for more projects in the second half of the year.

A view up Lombard Street from the bottom of the curves.

1) Photorealism study. 2) Closeup of a digital dragonfly, used in social promotions this year. 3) A photo up Lombard Street from the bottom after descending during a day trip in San Francisco.

We also added one standout addition to the studio, an Insta360 x5 which enables 360° photo and videography. There has been a bit of a learning curve with new workflows for additional editing, framing and exporting, but the results have been truly next level. The freedom of being able to capture moments without having to focus as much on actually adjusting the camera during an event or capture is liberating. This camera has already enabled several new projects this year.

You may enjoy some of these articles from our blog from the second quarter:

Lighting for Creative Workspaces (4/10/25)
10 Essential WordPress Plugins (4/11/25)
Gimp vs Photoshop: A Free Alternative for Designers (4/11/25)
How to Set Up WordPress Locally Using MAMP on a Mac (4/14/25)
Inkscape vs Illustrator: A Powerful Free Alternative for Designers (5/1/25)
Inside the Studio: Using AI to Power Creative Workflows (5/14/25)
Why UX & UI Matter: Design as a Differentiator (5/20/25)
Ready for Summer? Design Tips to Help Your Brand Stand Out and Sizzle (6/2/25)
The Symbolic Logo: Designing Resonance Through Ritual and Meaning (6/12/25)
Exploring XnViewMP: The Free Image Manager Every Creative Should Know (6/19/25)

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

— Albert Einstein

First video project with the X5. I did extensive work on the music for this project and decided to self-release it under my music production project Mystik. (View Blog Post | Release on MystikSound.com)

Q3 - Summer

Summer brought local and international travel along with opportunities to explore the Insta360 X5 camera further and use it for a first project (above). That included a musical component, which we extended into website ecommerce, product visuals and social media support across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X. For more information about this project, here's another blog post we wrote about it: From Vacation to Video: A Creative Journey In Media Production (7/17/25)

Standing next to the Jean Michel Cousteau sign in Fiji

Notably, this year also brought me down to Fiji in the South Pacific for a family reunion. Getting outside of the US and experiencing another culture was exciting as well as rewarding. It was refreshing to explore the country and meet many wonderful people there. Our trip to Savusavu included daily snorkeling and regular excursions into surrounding areas including local towns and villages. The opportunity for cultural immersion and distance from daily routines was meaningful. In addition, the local artwork was inspiring and unique, making a deep, positive impact. For more on this you may enjoy our Fiji Travelogue post.

Sunset over Savusavu Bay, Fiji; Taken from Bure 4 at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort

Just after returning back stateside, my mother had an unexpected ER trip requiring hospitalization and physical rehabilitation. Fortunately this happened in San Francisco so I could visit regularly and support locally, but it was a very intense process and we weren't sure which way it would go for a while. (For now, things are trending positively.)

Overall, however during this quarter we translated exploration into applied output, connecting travel, media production and music into integrated projects that extended across video, ecommerce and social platforms.

You may enjoy some of these articles from our blog from the third quarter:

Freedom & Structure in Design: Where the Magic Really Happens (7/9/25)
From Vacation to Video: A Creative Journey in Media Production (7/17/25)
DaVinci Resolve: Free Professional-Grade Video & Motion Editing (7/23/25)
Get Ready, Get Set: Planning & Preparation for Travel Shoots (8/6/25)
On Location: Travel for Creative Inspiration (8/11/25)
Back to Business: Returning Recharged and Inspired from Creative Travel (8/19/25)
Fiji: A Travelogue (9/27/25)

A leafy canopy of colorful deciduous trees

Crisp days and bright fall colors are spectacular in the Midwest

Q4 - Between Worlds

October in Milwaukee was mostly spent setting up home care systems and transitioning my mother back to our family home. It was great to reconnect with old friends and experience the wonderful fall colors during excursions from caregiving and other work. The various lakeside parks along the North Shore of Milwaukee provided great overlooks and perches to decompress and reflect.

Sitting at a desk in front of a computer

Returning to San Francisco in November, I reactivated the studio, began new projects and reestablished creative momentum at the PERSONE HQ. We're thankful to have a wonderful community of old friends and colleagues with which to celebrate. This year our community carried new meaning because of all the transitions and shifting responsibilities.

AI design of a lush tropical yet otherworldly landscape

December was split between San Francisco and Milwaukee, where I am now back celebrating the holidays and new year with family, reflecting on presence and adaptability, reinforcing the importance of sustainable systems, community and balance while resetting priorities for the year ahead.

You may enjoy some of these other articles from our blog from the fourth quarter:

Happy Fall from Milwaukee (10/31/25)
Between Worlds: Navigating the Liminal State (11/26/25)

Happy Holidays graphic over a bright background of colored balls spilling out of a basket

Wishing you happy holidays and a wonderful new year!

Conclusion

Despite the challenges, it has been a year of growth, exploration and expansion. Perhaps because of the challenges. As always, we continue to study and apply our craft. But this year we've also pioneered new process-related optimization and automation pipelines, research and development in a number of sectors, including creative applications of AI, added skills training and new equipment onboarded and used in real-world applications amidst client projects, travel and change.

Looking forward, we'll continue outreach via our blog and newsletter. Subscribe and stay tuned for more updates and design-related articles in the new year. Reach out if you need any design support.

Thank you for being here – it's exciting to be with you for all of this!

Happy holidays and new year! Here's wishing you a wonderful, prosperous and fulfilling 2026!

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