About Jordyn Roberts
Jordyn is an Experience Design Consultant at UDig.
Config 2025 Day Two Recap
Back to insights
It felt as though Config 2025 ended as soon as it began, and I believe those of us that attended are all the better for it. By the end of the day, various inspirational and informative talks had been given by thought leaders and innovators in the product space. Between sessions, we had the opportunity to engage each other in conversation as we waited to get our aura’s captured by Google Design, or through play on Figma’s rhythmic sonic palettes. The conference buzzed with excitement throughout the day, and even as it came to an end and the lot of us made our way to the airport, we continued to buzz about, cherishing the good vibrations we were given and holding them close. As I write this post four hours later on a three-hour flight to Austin, I am still buzzing. Buzzing with the desire to create. To build. To break. To play.
This is why:
Day Two of the conference began with another keynote. However, while yesterday’s opening keynote was chock-full of exciting Figma feature reveals, today’s keynote consisted of the following four talks, all highlighting the importance of pushing boundaries in the pursuit of innovation.
Courten Singer and Ryan Hudson-Peralta: Augmental Mouthpad^: Redesigning the computer mouse
Corten Singer on the Config main stage during the opening keynote, presenting the Augmental Mouthpad^
Cofounder of Augmental, Corten Singer, challenged the paradigm of the computer mouse. The outcome of his pursuit? An innovation that positively impacted the lives of many people. His goal was to create a more human-computer interaction tool that exceeds the limits of existing alternatives (at the time): eye-tracking, voice control, and the surgically invasive BCI implant.
Empowered by open-mindedness and drive, the team at Augmental managed to break down the boundaries of current technologies by exploring computer interaction with the tongue, aka “The Eleventh Finger.” Their hard work resulted in the creation of a mouth retainer that combines mechanical and electrical elements for expressive, invisible, tailored, cross-platform tongue-tracking. Thus, the Augmental Mouthpad^ was born.
Designer Ryan Hudson-Peralta joins the main stage and Courten Singer presenting the recorded demo of him using the Augmental Mouthpad^ to design in Figma.
Early exploration into how the device could improve one’s mobility in a wheelchair and another’s gaming experience made for a highly applicable, usable product. Eventually, designer Ryan Hudson-Peralta had the opportunity to experience the Mousepad^ himself. After joined Singer on the main stage to share his story and experience with the device, the two presented a recorded demo for us to see Ryan in action using the Mouthpad^ to design in Figma. It was pretty cool to witness the powerful outcome of Augmental’s drive and desire to create an impactful solution.
At the end of the talk, Singer asked Ryan a question – “Why does it matter to have a device like the Mouthpad^?”
Ryan responded. “What’s good design for people with disabilities is good for everyone.”
It’s true. Inclusive design is universal design, and universal design is accessible to everyone.
Dr. Madeline Cannon: How to be a Robot Whisperer
Dr. Madeline Gannon introduces Config attendees to the concept of robot whispering.
Dr. Madeline Gannon is a robot whisperer, and she can clearly see how the world of AI and bionics is merging because of rapid commercialization. This is no longer an impossibility contained in the bounds of fictional storytelling – it’s real life. Collectively, we are being forced to acknowledge our fears of AI becoming a corporeal intelligence. However, Dr. Gannon makes her stance on this pretty clear to us. In fact, she has a different take on this. An optimistic one:
“Automation is not inevitable and is a result of our collective choices,” she says. “We have the ability to choose differently.”
Dr. Gannon chose differently by choosing to go against all guidelines and safety protocols by misusing machines and finding ways to pull them out of industries and into human environments, including more personal ones. Mimus, a dear robot of hers, was her choice. She altered how Mimus moved, giving the industrial robot an “Illusion of Life” accentuated by humanity’s natural disposition to succumb to pareidolia, a phenomenon people commonly experience in which we impose human characteristics on non-human things.
“The future of robots is not about what they do but about how they make you feel,” she says. “It’s not about function, it’s about feeling.”
The Robot Whisperer and her relationship with Mimus is proof that this choice is possible. But what can we do? How do we work with technology that we need to convince and not command?
- Amateurism: Gannon believes amateur eyes can connect dots that others cannot see. “The more experienced you have, the harder it is to maintain. Technology is constantly evolving, so we can instantly become amateurs again.”
- Playfulism: This happens when we lead with a curiosity that is open but intentional. Gannon created a living space / workspace in Pittsburgh as a productive way to engage with her robots in an open-ended design space instead of in a lab.
- Optimism – Dr. Gannon is an optimist by nature, but she is a skeptical optimist that acknowledges challenges of today with the desire to build for the future. She sees importance in bringing more wonder and optimism into the world. “The limit we are also facing is the limit of our imagination.”
Dr. Gannon also emphasizes the importance of having a North Star to guide us through our journey and leave space for optimism and idealism and grace. “I find that having a North Star leaves space for idealism and optimism and ambition and the grace for the inevitable course of corrections that come along the way.”
And then she asks us if we have our own North Star.
“What is something that you can build towards with this fearless and relentless intention that is perhaps too ambitious, too idealistic but something you can navigate toward for your entire career?” she asks. “We have the technology today. Now we just need to misuse it.”
Nicole McLaughlin: Upcycle – Reimagining Waste and Discarded Materials
Nicole McLaughlin presents some of her upcycling projects to attendees on the main stage.
Nicole McLaughlin is an “upcyclist,” someone who sees waste as a resource and can see the potential of what already exist by transforming it and giving it longevity. She became familiar with the power of rapid prototyping through upcycling and empowered herself by not getting trapped by perfectionism or creative blocks, choosing to continuously pushing through challenges by being aware of the possibilities of the materials she worked with.
“A shoe doesn’t have to stay a shoe,” she remarks. “They can be anything.”
McLaughlin gives herself grace to fail. She challenges herself daily and tells us it’s important that we can admit that we don’t have all the answers. What she says rings true. Personally, I have found excellence thrives off failure if we learning from it and trying again.
Jeff Staple: Breaking and entering (and building culture along the way)
Jeff Staple begins his talk letting the audience know that 10 free copies of his book, Not Just Sneakers, will be available after his talk.
“What do you want to create for the younger version of yourself that is out there?”
The question was asked by Jeff Staple designer of one of the most viral works of art –Nike’s NYC Pigeon Dunks– at the start of his talk, the last of the opening Keynote. Staple share his life journey with us: how Connie Chung changed his life because her existence and success in journalism provided an alternative path to the doctor his parents wanted him to become. It was during his studies that he learned how to use QuarkXPress and observed designers at work. This inspired him to pursue design, a path not available at NYU. He dropped out and attended Parsons, where he learned the craft of silk-screening and eventually applied this craft to t-shirts for his friends to wear. His t-shirt designs became popular, really popular. So popular that a man from Japan requested 1,000 silkscreened t-shirts from him.
But what could he do? The entire time, he was sneaking into the silkscreen lab to work on these t-shirts after his professor forbade him from doing so. It wasn’t sustainable, so he dropped out of college and pursued the business opportunity. He had imprinted himself on NYC’s culture on a small scale at the time, and when Nike’s NYC Pigeon Dunks hit the shelves, he hit viral status. For a shoe that executives across the country couldn’t comprehend the significance of at the time, the NYC Pigeon Dunks were a hit with the target audience Staple had in mind when he made them. Those who knew. New Yorkers Sneakerheads. “We have the ability to send a message through the products we’re making,” he said. “Let’s build something for the kid we once we’re.”
After the opening keynote, I had the opportunity to attend a couple more talks before attempting to get my aura photo taken and heading to the airport. The talks were held at the Mezzanine stage and focused on design craft. Out of those I listened to, my favorite speaker was Inga Hampton, because she is the type of designer I aspire to be.
Inga Hampton: The art of not naming your layers
Inga Hampton on the Messanine Stage showing-and-telling us all about her pet donkeys Eb & Flo.
Inga Hampton embraces creative chaos. She relieves herself from the pressure that comes with perfectionism and efficiency. In her opinion, tools meant to optimize workflow can be restricting and separate us from our natural desire to create with freedom. The chaos of it all invigorates her. It’s what makes her workflow hers and she owns it. Even what some would call the most challenging, tedious parts of it.
“You need to experience the difficult part before it gets good,” she says. “The answer lies in chaos and slowing down.”
The emphasis put on efficiency seems to have corrupted the design process for most, including myself. I have found I put most of my efforts toward doing what I can to be speedy. Do I neglect quality? Not at all. I only wish I had more time to be creative in a more exploratory, untethered manner.
“We have lost touch with craft. It was just as much about the process as the result…. Remember creativity is not just about the end result, but about the journey.”
“Creativity is messy, unstructured, and exploratory. This defines humanity. Accepted the messy process. I know it will be beautiful in the end because I deserve it.”
Hampton then highlights the idea of play. She then goes into a question a father asked her one day: “Why do you make everything harder for yourself?”
She asked in response “Do I?”
“Creativity is about confidence. You can build confidence by practicing and experimenting.”
How?
- Stop obsessing over efficiency
- Step away from the computer- anything to get your hands dirty or doing something in the physical world
- Bea kid again. Let yourself be bad at something
A Moment of Play: Google Design’s Aura Photos
I waited in line for two hours for Google Design’s Aura Photo experience with many attendees in line behind me.
Before heading off, I wanted to get my aura captured. I was told the day before that it was a 30-minute wait, so I decided to figure it out on Day 2 when I would have enough time between sessions to get it done. Or so I thought. What was a 30-minute wait the day before was now a two-hour wait. It turned many people away, but I was already dedicated and decided to persevere. I can happily say I made it before the cut off.
And thus, the second and final day of Config 2025 came to an end. It was a fantastic experience in which I felt challenged, understood, and rejuvenated. I am looking forward to what next year holds in store for us.