Who's Speaking at Config?

📰 3 THINGS TO CHECK OUT

Config 2026 Speakers: The Biggest Opportunities with AI

• Figma just released a sneak preview of the speaker lineup for Config 2026, which includes Pinterest designer and author Vicki Tan, AI artist Holly Herndon, and product strategist Matthew Ström-Awn, among others.
  
  
• Their talks will explore AI-powered creative workflows, how designers can define quality in a world where anyone can turn ideas into working software, and what it means to push the limits of craft and creativity.
  
  
• “It’s exciting to see our capacities expand [as designers], and to shift our roles to become orchestrators.” — Holly Herndon

Building a Game at the Speed of Thought: A Vibe Coding Story

• Designer Fabio Sasso shares a recent experiment in which he built a playable word game called Lettrix. Instead of traditional dev stacks, he relied on AI tools like Gemini 3.0 and Antigravity to generate and vibe-code the app—compressing the journey from idea to a working prototype into a single HTML file and a matter of minutes.
  
  
• “It proves that the future of design isn't about mastering complex software; it’s about mastering the conversation with AI. The soul of Lettrix isn't in the lines of code, but in the rapid-fire cycle of dreaming, prompting, and testing until the 'vibe' is exactly right.”
  
  
• If you’re curious about AI-powered product building, our new Vibe Coding Camp explores exactly these workflows, showing designers how to turn ideas into fully functional product prototypes, complete with real data, interactions, and deployment. The next cohort launches May 9.

Product Thinking for UI Designers

• UX strategist Noah Davis argues that great user design starts with understanding the problem, not just polishing the solution. Product thinking, he points out, brings designers into the conversation earlier, asking why a feature exists and what user need it should solve.
  
  
• The shift from “pixel pusher” to product thinker means going from how it looks to why it matters. He points out that product thinking both solves a user problem and achieves a business goal.
  
  
• “When you start making decisions based on business goals, user psychology, and technical feasibility, you become more than a designer—you become an architect of experience.”
  

💜 PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION

UX Academy graduate Tatiana Pavlova brings a rich multidisciplinary background to her UX work—starting with early art training, later earning a design degree from California College of the Arts, and building experience across publishing, marketing, and digital design. In her portfolio, Tatiana demonstrates a thoughtful, research-driven approach through projects like Reversi, a mobile app that helps people with prediabetes build sustainable health habits through simple tracking, educational insights, and encouraging feedback. She also designed a responsive website for a sustainable architecture consultancy that helps families create healthier homes. Her designs translate complex information about materials and safety into a calm, trustworthy digital experience. Across her work, Tatiana shows a clear focus on empathy, clarity, and designing systems that support meaningful everyday decisions.

Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.

💡 INTERESTING STUFF...

• A Practical Guide to Product Roadmapping
• Design Inspiration Videos for Creative Escape
• Reading on Mobile is Uniquely Challenging
• Why Modular Content Blocks are Better Than Full Templates

Design needs to be plugged into human behavior. The best designs are those that dissolve into behavior. — Naoto Fukusawa, product designer

🧪 FROM THE LAB

Apply to the UI Mastery Certification Program

While AI is front and center for many teams, designers and teams alike are making a push to strengthen the skills that rise in importance alongside AI — particularly craft and design judgment. That’s what we built our UI Mastery Certification around. Our April cohort is now accepting applications, and you can read case studies from past participants here.

Apply now.

More Upcoming Courses

👉 For Experienced Designers

Our next cohort of AI Prototyping Camp starts in just two weeks. Built for anyone shaping and building digital products, this fast-paced program takes you from idea to working prototype at the speed of AI.

In four live sessions over four weekends (Saturdays: 3/21, 3/28, 4/4, 4/11), you’ll get hands-on with Figma Make and Lovable, turn screens into polished flows, and collaborate in a one-day design-a-thon to scope, prototype, and ship a mini-project. Grab your spot now.

👉 For Career Transitioners

Our next UX Academy Foundations cohort starts Monday, March 9th. If you’ve been meaning to take the first step into UX/product design, this is the perfect place to start.

In just a few weeks, you’ll learn foundational visual design skills, build proficiency in Figma, get 1:1 feedback and support from an experienced design mentor, and be fully prepared to enter UX Academy.

Enroll now.