The Config conference from Figma is turning into the SXSW of the design world, and there are always interesting videos to watch during and after the event. They tend to drip-feed these videos out weeks after the conference is finished, so I’ve waited until they all became available, then pulled out a shortlist of my favorites below.
Serious play
Andy Allen is half of the team behind Not Boring Software, and this talk focuses on how much they obsess over the details in their apps. As someone currently working on an enterprise e-commerce app, this content is always inspiring.
In defense of an old pixel
When I started in web design in 2005, pixel fonts were everywhere, so this was a nice little trip down memory lane. I love how he details how pixel fonts can age poorly based on the display technology they were designed for.
I have a pretty sizeable retro gaming setup, and I always turn on some CRT emulation to restore some of the original typographic intent.
The broken promises of design systems
I’ve been on both sides of the design system, creating it and using it as a feature designer. This is a great talk that discusses some of the common problems with using design systems at scale and how to improve speed, cohesion, and quality while adding creative expression.
A look inside teenage engineering
Teenage Engineering are known for their beautiful projects, and this interview was a refreshing look at how the CEO/Designer treats process, collaboration, and design. I love how honest and real he is; it’s very refreshing.
Blood, sweat and details
If I weren’t in product design, 3D would probably be something I’d be focusing on. I remember seeing some great renders on the wealthsimple site years ago and wondered who did them. Lo and behold, it’s the guy from this talk. 3D has always been a bit daunting in terms of complexity, and this video gives a brief run-through on how something fairly simple can be quite the beast under the hood.
From paper to pixels
I’ve always liked sketching out early design ideas on paper, but I fell out of the habit when I got my iPad and Apple Pencil. This video is a great look behind the sketching process of the founder of Cron (a calendar app acquired by Notion). His commitment to using field notes for the last decade is pretty inspiring when you see everything laid out on the Figma canvas.
Infinite curiosity: What the Eames legacy can teach us about approaching design
This is a refreshing interview from the granddaughter of Ray and Charles Eames that takes us outside of the digital content the rest of the conference is focused on. She speaks on tools, improving vs. iterating, mending vs. replacing systems, beauty for beauty’s sake, and how important thoughtfulness and intention are in design.
Beyond solos: a collective approach to music app development
I’ve been an Ableton user going all the way back to 2008, and it’s always been one of my favorite apps. This is a fun little talk that goes through the creation of their Note app for iOS.
Until next year!