figma product booths. they recently introduced figma motion, generative plugins, and new capabilities in figma make. you can watch the full keynote on YouTube.
i almost did not go to config because the ticket was too expensive. then, the night before the event, someone from my college sent a text message to give away a spare ticket. i checked telegram and asked for the it just 5 minutes later. i got very lucky because i rarely check messaging apps at night. and i'm so so glad i got to attend the conference. i spent the majority of my time there just listening to keynotes and talks (not really tried to network, partly because it was too crowded - 10k people!, and partly because i did not have the energy to), and they were all so well-designed and spoken!
i think it's a good idea to sit down and write some recap while my memory and emotions are still fresh. all the talks and keynotes i decided to attend showed me the power of a good AND personal story, intentional slides + visuals, the heart & soul these people put into their work, and their belief in humanity. it's such a refeshing experience in san francisco - where you see AI ads about tools "promising" to automate human tasks everywhere - to see more than 15 people from different backgrounds such as math, music, illustration, and film emphasize the value of humans, of the creative processes that are not necessarily efficient, and of how AI should amplify our thinking, not taking it away. i left feeling so inspired and having so much respect and appreciation for anyone who designs. they might be different but they all share one thing, one thing that makes all the difference: they care.
when there is an abundance of choices, there is design
i followed 3B1B when i first studied linear algebra so seeing him in person was such an awesome experience! grant showed us how math could be visualized in a way that helps you understand a topic more deeply. he said: "when there is an abundance of choices, there is design" since that is when you have to think about the audience and the tradeoffs each option has. we spent 30 minutes reviewing the concept of the imaginary number (i) in the euler's identity and how it's applied to make the art piece print gallery by m.c.escher. i loved the way he broke down the identity into small pieces, and explain the role of each symbol. got to see some cools interactive math and how he actually re-created the artwork!the math behind the artwork is explained in this paper: Artful Mathematics: The Heritage of M. C. Escher
creativity is not efficient
this talk is from lauren hom. she told a story of transitioning from advertising to becoming a full-time freelancer, going to restaurants to pitch herself to handwrite their menus in exchange for food (what a genius idea!), and ended up enrolling in a culinary school :) she reminds us of self-advocacy - to advocate for your aspirations instead of waiting for some external forces to tell us what to do.
designing for trust
this is head of design @ waymo, telling us how they design for trust when it comes to autonomous vehicles. he showed us the decisions his team made on how to display humans, intersections, and traffic cones and the reasons behind all of them. he even mentioned sound engineering - the sound cusomers hear when they open the door or when there is a warning. i was again reminded of intentionality and attention to details, which most of the time are invisible, that create a truly great user experience.
the modern film interfaces
probably one of the coolest talks! jayse was the person behind many holograms, HUDs, and futuristic interface systems of blockbusters such as as top gun. it amazed me when he showed us his meticulous artifacts from the more obvious shapes to the tiny little dots, all of which he made without using AI at all.
reimagining the future of tech
an amazing talk from jade and jame! they live coded their music using strudel, showed us their creative coding projects and shared about their beliefs into a future of more just, personalized, and cheap computing/software.
the creative process behind brat
i loveeeeeeed brent's presentation so much - very personal, funny, and relatable. he was the person behind this viral trend inspired by the album cover he designed: brat. he showed us a HUGE collection of images on this laptop and the mockups he made for brat in figma. there was one thing he mentioned that stays with me: the actual real work of a designer is not sitting on your computer and fixing pixels and hoping that ideas will come from nowhere from your mind. it is the work where you get yourself inspired, go outside, take pictures, save them, watch TV or consume something and also save them, to the point you make such a good curated library that you can reference when the time comes.there is no finished state is the final message. normally we think of design versions (v0, v1, v2, v3, etc.) as progressive versions (v1 should be better than v0, v2 should be better than v1) but they are just different explorations they we make to discover how certain things should be and how we want them to be.
human craft and connection is the moat
a great case study of brand design from plaid. i was genuinely impressed by their design team. they did research on the the patterns and design of the US and other countries' currencies and studied how those establish trust with the users. chris walked us through the process behind " the fraudsters are coming!" campaign and all the artwork that is a mix of old and modern styles of design. i also appreciate the fact that he kept reminding us how important human connections are by showing their in-person conference and coffee shops.
if you work, it will lead to something
this talk is from zach - an artist @ mit media lab. he showed us his decade of consistent creative coding and sharing his work online. it was so fun seeing him experimenting with shades, lighting, and colors.
listen to your creative inner self
this is vicki. her talk was so healing i almost cried. it was about her creative process and personal stories writing the book: ask this book a question. she even read a poem at the end for us.
Closing thoughts
angels appear as what you fear. devils appear as what you desire.some random playgroundthe figma magazine <3
and that's a wrap for config 2026. this is also my first config! i'm glad i made very good choices about my own agenda. i skipped those "corporate"-sound talks like agentic workflows to attend those that sparked an interest in me. one interesting thing: the most boring talk, which i did not intentionally choose - i was just too tired to move to another stage, was from a guy from google lol, i almost dozed off.
