What’s happening at Config 2024?
We captured the action with on-the-ground coverage of Figma’s annual conference for product builders.
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That’s a wrap! We knew big things were afoot, but Config 2024 went beyond our expectations thanks to the energy and generosity of our community. From the attendees who’d come from all over the world, to the brilliant speakers, to the staff and volunteers working behind the scenes, we owe our experience to the people who made it happen.
Relive your favorite sessions or binge the ones you missed on our YouTube playlist, and read our launch recap on the blog. And to see what it was like from our perspective, scroll through our updates below. If you’re in the Asia-Pacific region, register virtually for our first ever Config APAC happening July 2.
Thanks for all the memories, and see you next year!
Day 2, June 27
Opening day at Config is under our belts, and we’re back for seconds. Follow along for scene reports from Moscone and the virtual stage—speaking of which, here’s what you can expect online today:
[9:04 am PDT] The Browser Company’s Karla Mickens Cole and Nashilu “Nash” Mouen lead the Designing for Everything keynote with the question: “How do you break expectations and reshape them in a world that loves straight lines?” It’s the core challenge facing the two creatives who work on the Arc browser.
[9:15 am PDT] Their answer is to leave fingerprints—i.e. traces of their authentic selves and experiences on the products they build. “You can’t build something new if you’re only looking internally,” says Nash. “Sometimes the best products, brands, and stories pull from outside technology.”
[9:25 am PDT] Artist and designer Refik Anadol sits down with Meredith Black, Director of DesignOps at Figma. He describes how his life changed after MoMA acquired Unsupervised, a digital art piece that uses AI to manipulate the museum’s archives. “We computed the possible dreams of the machine,” he says.
[9:34 am PDT] Meredith asks what he thinks about critics who say he’s simplifying data. “Digital art was a blind spot for the art world,” says Refik. “When it comes to critics, I wonder: ‘Who is saying it, and why?’”
Another hysterical idea—a drone that cuts your hair.
[9:43 am PDT] Inventor and YouTuber Simone Giertz (pronounced “Yetch”) shows us some of the hilarious inventions that have led to internet fame—a helmet that brushes your teeth. An alarm clock that slaps you awake. A robot that feeds you soup (if dumping it all over your shirt counts).
[9:47 am PDT] Simone dreamed up these inventions when she quit her own startup and allowed herself to play again. “I needed to change my tactic because pushing myself to be excellent wasn’t working out,” she says. “I realized that ‘difficult’ does not equal ‘important.’”
[9:53 am PDT] As her skills evolved, Simone realized that her self-deprecation was undermining herself. In 2019, she launched a product design company called Yetch, where she refines and sells her best inventions, like the ingenious Coat Hinger.
[10:01 am PDT] In a brainstorming exercise, Simone challenges us to write down as many use cases as we can for a single brick in two minutes. (Go ahead, try it!) Then we share our last three ideas—our weirdest, most creative ones, she says—with our seat neighbor. (We came up with charcuterie board, car brake, and hammer.)
[10:05 am PDT] Simone reminds us that we get to decide our own futures. “My favorite invention, by far, is my job,” she says.
My favorite invention, by far, is my job.
[11:29 am PDT] The line for the Figma Store may be long, but it’s worth it. We catch Kurt Bettencourt, Brand Designer at Exxact Corporation, who shows us the hoodie he scored. “The swag is fun and reminds me a lot of the brand studios I follow,” says Kurt. “Everything’s quirky and just odd enough to be cool.”
[12:26 pm PDT] We stop by the Customization Station in the Maker Space, where Ryan Scott, UX Designer at United Wholesale Mortgage, is choosing patches to decorate his Config tote bag. Meanwhile, Emily Bramlitt, UX Designer at Carboncopies, is getting her aura portrait taken.
[1:49 pm PDT] It’s a packed house for Eames & teamLab: Crafting for the Physical Space. The Eames Institute’s Llisa Demetrios sits down with our very own Amber Bravo, Story Studio Director. “I look at things as Charles and Ray Eames’ granddaughter, but also as a curator,” she says.
[1:50 pm PDT] Llisa shares that when she was eight years old, she and Charles had borscht for dinner. On the walk home, he asked her if she’d liked it, and she told him she hadn’t. “He asked me, ‘How would you have done things differently?’” she says. “I felt empowered and heard.”
[2:05 pm PDT] Charles and Ray loved toys, says Lisa, “because toys are preludes to serious ideas.” She points to their 1957 Solar Do-Nothing Machine, which served no practical purpose, but showcased the power of solar energy.
[2:13 pm PDT] Here’s our inspiration of the day: To friends who were afraid to try and fail, Charles and Ray would say, “Well, that’s one less misconception.”
[2:18 pm PDT] Daisuke Sakai, Co-founder of teamLab, reveals that he met Co-founder Toshiyuki Inoko at the Japanese folk dancing festival Awa Odori.
The Infinite Crystal Universe is an immersive light sculpture.
[2:19 pm PDT] One of teamLab’s guiding principles is: No big ideas. “People think one big idea changes everything, but it’s not about the idea itself,” says Daisuke. “Ideas can be interpreted or misinterpreted many ways. What truly matters is the ability to realize the idea and the quality of its execution.” He points to The Infinite Crystal Universe: “Anyone can have the idea to fill a room with LEDs.”
It’s not about the idea itself. What truly matters is the ability to realize the idea and the quality of its execution.
[2:29 pm PDT] Another concept we can all learn from: Don’t divide too much. Every team member in an organization brings their own expertise, he explains, but inevitable gaps between them will appear—especially when people play into their roles. “We make sure information isn’t diluted during execution,” he says. “Pay attention to empty spaces between elements. See what can be dissolved or reshaped.”
[2:34 pm PDT] One last piece of advice? “Never stop dancing,” says Daisuke.
[2:43 pm PDT] Leaving the session, we check in with Anahita Dasgupta, UX Researcher at United Airlines; Mrinal Bhatia, Design Strategist at Institute of Design; and Rhythm Gada, UX Designer III at Walmart. “I love the mix of disciplines coming together at Config,” says Mrinal, who has a background in architecture.
Marcin also wrote Shift Happens, a book covering 150 years of keyboard design. Read our Q&A with him here.
[4:00 pm PDT] Raves are rolling in for Figma Design Director Marcin Wichary’s talk, In Defense of an Old Pixel, where he makes pixel font nerds out of all of us and invites us to make our own.
[4:04 pm PDT] We get an update from Figmates who have been meeting CROP Ready 4 Life fellows at Config as part of a mentorship program. A nonprofit based in Oakland, CROP prepares formerly incarcerated people for careers in tech and design Oakland, California-based CROP Organization wants to forge a better path for those facing the challenges of reentry. We caught up with the founders and first-ever cohort of fellows to learn about their mission to create new inroads to the world of tech.
Meet the nonprofit training formerly incarcerated people for careers in UX design
[4:18 pm PDT] It’s time for a #confit check! We run into Karl Solano, Product Designer at Dealeron, who’s sporting a special accessory—a skateboard that he won earlier in the day from Freepik. “I had to land a trick to prove I could skateboard,” he laughs. He works on a remote team and appreciates the chance to meet folks in person at Config. “That human-to-human connection is so important,” he says. “You can feel their energy.”
[5:25 pm PDT] At the closing keynote, Co-founder and CEO of Icon Jason Ballard reminds us of the importance of beauty and good design. “Beauty is the difference between dystopia and utopia,” he says, to a round of applause. “Design is the emergent property that expresses our values.”
[5:30 pm PDT] With technologies like Icon’s 3D-printing robots, says Jason, “dignified housing is going to be abundant in this world. Even though we’re using AI and robots, if we can keep our values in design at the table, this world will be more human and not less.” He calls for the audience to keep fighting for their values and signs off with: “Zoom zoom! We ride.”
Day 1, June 26
The wait is over: Config 2024 is officially here, and the vibes at Moscone Center are sky high. Come with us as we dive headfirst into a day full of exciting announcements, inspiring talks, and reunions on the conference floor. If you’re tuning in virtually, peep our schedule below for what’s happening between sessions. Today, we’re digging further into each of the new features launched—we’ll update you tomorrow with the virtual lineup for Day 2!
[8:34 am PDT] Coffee procured. We’re off to a good start. Folks are settling in for the product keynote 👀 We’re counting down the minutes and frankly having too much fun with Instagram filters Config Confetti by Friends of Figma NYC and Config ’24 Eyes by Figma.
[9:13 am PDT] We weren’t expecting to feel feelings already, but the keynote opening video has us high key nostalgic about how far the web has come.
[9:19 am PDT] Our Co-founder and CEO Dylan Field takes the podium and dives into the demos, starting with UI3. (Catch up with everything we’re announcing today with our Config launch recap!)
[9:32 am PDT] Emil Sjölander, Software Engineering Manager, jumps on stage to go over changes in Dev Mode, including Code Connect coming out of beta and a new Ready for Dev View. “Yeah, I like it too,” he says when the audience cheers.
[9:42 am PDT] Dylan—who’s wearing a T-shirt that says Now with AI—gets into Figma’s new AI features. To demonstrate Make Designs, he types the prompt A personal portfolio website for a sustainable Middle Earth architect, which comes up with a choice design for an elven architect named Elrond Perendhel (Lord of the Rings fans, unite).
[9:59 am PDT] Rename Layers gets a huge reaction from the crowd. “I’m not gonna lie, that’s one of my favorite features I’m showing today,” says Dylan.
[10:03 am PDT] Dylan recaps what’s been announced and then pauses: “Wait, can someone pull up my speaker notes?” In an Inception-worthy moment, he reveals that the entire keynote has been presented in Figma Slides, getting resounding cheers from the audience.
Mihika demos Figma Slides.
[10:04 am PDT] Product Manager Mihika Kapoor cursor chats with Dylan: “Should I come on stage?” (Fun fact: Mihika started the project during an internal hackathon called Maker Week, and she originally pitched it as Flides.)
[10:16 am PDT] As we leave the main stage, we ask software engineer Hanbin Cho what he thought of the keynote. “It felt like a rock concert,” he says. “Just seeing the sheer number of people and how they were moved was really cool. As a humble developer, I hope to work on something that makes people cheer like that.”
I hope to work on something that makes people cheer like that.
[10:59 am PDT] Ariana Kim, who works on Figma’s Marketing Operations team, gives a tour of the San Francisco office to Giovanni Gonzales, a fellow participating in the CROP program for formerly incarcerated people. “Config is so incredible and huge!” says Giovanni. “I thought the AI for websites and app development was so cool, and I’m excited to create my own app with it.”
[11:00 am PDT] We’re settled in Hall F for The Human Algorithm, where Henry Modisett, Head of Design at Perplexity, starts with this provocation: “Technology is not useful on its own but in how it's applied.” Some possibilities: AI that powers a video game with endless possibilities, or brings an audiobook to life with different voices for each character.
Technology is not useful on its own but in how it’s applied.
[11:14 am PDT] Sam Whitmore and Jason Yuan, Co-founders of New Computer, introduce Dot—an AI that grows with you as you talk to it—and how they think of the human-computer relationship. Jason explains how social boundaries play a role.
[12:03 pm PDT] As people make their way to lunch, #confits are on full display. We flag down Lakshh Gontla, Senior Multidisciplinary Desig“nerd” at Inizio Evoke, who asked a friend to custom design an outfit that’s a tribute to type variables. Tomorrow, his threads will feature the colors of Figma to celebrate diversity. “I mean that in all senses,” he says, “including different roles in product building and how it’s important for everyone to collaborate. Everything I do comes with empathy. Why leave out fashion?”
[12:07 pm PDT] We stop by the FigJam wall, where the canvas is filling up with messages on Figma-inspired stickies.
[1:43 pm PDT] In line for lunch, we meet Lékan Mabayoje, Principal Experience Designer at Capital One. He talks up The Prompt, a magazine by Figma AI promises to reinvigorate the way we design and build, but how we realize that potential is still an open question. By answering a series of prompts, leaders in this rapidly evolving field take stock of where we stand, what the limits are, and where we’re bound to grow.
Welcome to The Prompt
[5:17 pm PDT] In his chat with Dylan in the closing keynote, Founder and CEO of Teenage Engineering Jesper Kouthoofd assures us, “You don’t have to revolutionize design. Just move the dot a little bit forward. We do it together.”
For more on the possibilities with AI and humanoid robots, see “Are we finally entering the age of androids?” in The Prompt.
[5:26 pm PDT] “Simply seeing is not enough. Seeing is for doing and learning,” says AI innovator Dr. Fei Fei Li, who argues that with spatial intelligence, AI will go beyond its current capabilities. At the Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute, she and her students have trained a robotic arm to make a sandwich and place a napkin for someone. “Spatial intelligence will augment humanity,” she says.
Day 0, June 25
Product builders from all over the world are touching down in San Francisco—just in time for our first-ever kickoff event, Config Commons.
[4:46 pm PDT] We’re fresh from the airport and head to Moscone to pick up our badge. Gotta say, the building hits different when it’s dressed for Config.
Rodrigo and yours truly—the first of many selfies.
[5:17 pm PDT] Just across the street at Yerba Buena Gardens, Config Commons is in full swing, and DJ Nina Sol is playing the ’90s banger “Show Me Love.” Jou An Chen, a freelance product designer visiting from New York City, says, “It feels like a university campus! Everyone in New York is so busy doing their own thing, so I’m here to connect with people.”
[5:21 pm PDT] First friend spotting in the wild! We run into our pal Rodrigo Zapata, Senior Product Designer at Realtor.com, who will be meeting his remote team for the first time at Config. “I feel like I’m at Coachella,” he says. (Later, I’ll chat with Anushri Gupta, Product Designer at Mercury, who has a slightly more local take: “It’s like Outside Lands for designers.”)
[6:00 pm PDT] Designer Advocate Miggi Cardona hypes up the crowd with some opening remarks, and then the one and only Taki takes the stage with some tracks about annotations and auto layout. “Auto layout yourself,” he says! Only at Config :’)
[6:20 pm PDT] It’s a hard job, but somebody’s gotta do it: We’re taking it upon ourselves to try out the food options, which include Korean rice bowls, naan sandwiches, and empanadas. Over nosh, I sit down with Avni Nijhawan, Founder and Designer at Fundae, and Brian Hinton, Accessibility Lead at Grammarly (and local Friends of Figma coordinator). They’re meeting IRL for the first time after connecting over accessibility design online.
(L to R): Katelyn Blankenship, Graphic Designer and UX Designer at Helium; Julia Young, freelance UX / product designer; and Socrates Charisis, Founder and Designer at Quintessential SFT
[6:38 pm PDT] Shoutout to freelance UX and product designer Julia Young, who offered to trade Config tote bags because we were eyeing the pink colorway. It’s her first time at the conference after attending virtually last year. “Everyone’s been so approachable, the music’s been great, and I love getting to try all the different foods,” she says.
[8:55 pm PDT] Thanks to DJ Noodles on the decks, this has turned into the best kind of party: a dance party. We’ll leave you with this dispatch from Miggi, which says it all.
Pre-Config
The Verge called Config “Coachella for product designers.”
The countdown to Config is on, and we’re back with live updates. On June 26 and 27, over 75 speakers and 8,000 attendees will join us at San Francisco’s Moscone Center for sessions spanning AI and innovation, building products, design craft, development and code, and beyond.
It’s our biggest Config yet, and we’re so excited to share our latest product releases, learn from creative leaders and product builders, and of course, connect with our community.
Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of your time at and around the conference, whether you’re in San Francisco or tuning in virtually.
Take note: A new season of Figma swag will be dropping at Config. As we overhead at Moscone last year, “You can stream a session, but you can’t stream swag.”
Image by Nazir Agah
Grab your spots
This year, we’re asking attendees to build out their agenda before coming to Config—get started here. We’ll be scanning QR codes at the door, so if you don’t have a spot ahead of time, you won’t be able to attend the session. A couple of sessions are already full, and a few are nearing capacity—so make sure to grab your spots soon!
It’s a stacked lineup, so you’ll have some tough choices to make. For day one, we’re eyeing sessions like “Staying human in the age of distraction” with speakers from Humane and Reginé Gilbert from New York University, “Should developers design?” with speakers from Not a Designer and Vercel, and of course, the closing keynote with Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field, Teenage Engineering’s Jesper Kouthoofd, and Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute’s Dr. Fei Fei Li. On day two, we’ll be bopping from talks like “Designing for everything” to “Eames & teamLab: Crafting for the physical space.” Designer Advocates Mallory Dean and Miggi Cardona also shared some of their favorites with these helpful agenda builder tutorials.
If a session is at capacity, never fear: We’ll have breakout rooms where you can watch the talk on a big screen. If you’re toting your laptop, you can also stream the session from Moscone.
Drop by Config Commons
If you’re in town on June 25 before Config officially kicks off, be sure to swing by Config Commons, our opening mixer that runs from 12 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Yerba Buena Gardens. Come by to reconnect with old friends and make new ones over fun activities—think typewriter poetry, live screen printing, DIY buttons, and more :)
By the way, you’ll need your badge to get into Config Commons, which you can pick up at Moscone South starting at 11:30 a.m. that day.
Tune in virtually
In case you can’t make it IRL, we’ve got you covered: Live-stream the talks (as well as some web-exclusive surprises) by registering for the virtual stage, or join your community at one of the 40+ watch parties hosted by Friends of Figma that are happening all around the world.
Watch this space
We’ll be back with live updates and daily recaps once Config gets underway. Until then—make sure you grab your spots for your favorite sessions, prep your #confits2024, and get plenty of sleep before the big event.
