Config 2023 Wrapped - Talks You Should Watch

Hey ,

Config was such an amazing experience. There's no doubt that the highlight for me had to be meeting so many incredible designers and internet friends in real life.

It was heartwarming to see so many people come together for Config across the world, creating a truly valuable community that Adobe has a lot to do to keep it sustainable. Figma emphasized how their core principle for building products is being "community"-led in many of their talks, and seeing it in real life is a different feeling.

My fave talks i recommend watching!

There has been a lot of content already on all the new updates (Variables, Dev mode, Advanced prototyping), which I highly recommend checking out and incorporating into your workflow.

In this newsletter, I have shortlisted my top 5 talks (there are so many amazing talks to watch) that I recommend you catch up on. For me, these talks cover the whole essence and spectrum of Config, from AI talks and Figma tips to product principles and more.

AI and the future of Figma

When it comes to AI, it's important to remain curious. AI is a technology and a platform, not a product. It can assist you in getting your job done, but it doesn't do your job for you; it's a tool.

The talk breaks down into three key areas: the "brainstorm," "design," and “build phases”, and looks at different ways in which AI can assist you and make you more effective in these areas.

Diagram

Figma acquired Diagram, started by Justin Singer, who has been working on implementing these AI features into Figma. Right now, they're looking at a chat assistant called "Genius," which can suggest things to do as you design, such as "add copy," "images," "adjust spacing," etc.

When catching up with Justin at Config, we chatted about the ethics and risks of "Fast AI" - think "Fast fashion." Figma could have rolled out a lot of the features already, similar to other tech companies.

It's impressive how quickly the space is evolving, but models must account for biases such as politics, religion, and race. It's easy to overlook this when creating content or adding images, but it's important to avoid showcasing biased features in the market.

It's also important as a community that we use these products to make people aware of the biases they're creating. The space is changing really fast.

How Slack Build Products

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Slack's principle-based approach to designing their app. Over the past few years, they have made several iterations to the app.

Principles in practise 

While many companies talk about principles, it's refreshing to see concrete examples of how they are being implemented within the organization and how they get others on board. Ethan described releasing the principles as a political campaign, pasting them everywhere.

It was fascinating to hear about the principles and design rationale behind certain features, such as huddles, the onboarding process, and the marketing website.

Putting joy on the roadmap 

I think it's an important reminder that "delight" is being overused in tech products. However, the true delight of a product comes from providing a really intuitive and engaging user experience.

Illustrations and fun content for error states, and confetti provided for updating your profile page used to be delightful at the time, but now it's outdated.

Working with your PM

Mihika, who used to work as a PM at Meta and is now at Figma, talks about how all the delightful features are usually prioritized as "P2" on a roadmap.But how can we really get these fun and engaging experiences higher up or get people to work on them?

That's where leveraging "maker weeks" and "hackathons" can be really important (a lot of the fun ideas of products have come from these moments) as well as build an understanding which projects can have a high impact while adding delight at the same time.

Figma like the Pros

Maybe I'm a bit biased for including this talk because it's full of really amazing content creator friends! There's just a wealth of useful tips here. I loved Femke's Figjam tips. I usually rewatch these videos every few months to remember some of the tips.

I still can't believe Helena drew heart icons LIVE in front of thousands of people. She had nerves of steel, and it was so fun to watch!

Content Design At Figma

I loved how Ryan talked about how content can really influence the product and direction of a feature. Before, he struggled to get buy-in on his ideas, and often people would just react and look past them.

However, basic wireframes can really help people buy into your idea instead of just using standalone Google Docs and messages, which people often overlook.

Design Mentoring For You.

If you’re interested in acing design interviews, portfolio reviews or general career advice from myself, now is a great opportunity to get some help!
Don’t miss out, limited slots are available, book today.

How To Create A Super Exciting Portfolio Presentation In Figma - Free Template!

I've got round to recording a video going through the engaging free portfolio presentation I made in Figma, leveraging Figma videos, Smart animations, GIFs and more!

I wanted to help the community by putting together a guide to help designers stand out in their presentations and make them more exciting. Too often, portfolio presentations are static and can be quite boring. Hopefully, this community template can provide inspiration on how to change up your deck and land the job you deserve!

Happy presenting!