Day Zero at Config 2025: The Calm Before the Creative Storm
Hiking, Waymo rides, Brazilian reunions, and the Super IC mindset.
Hello people, in this issue, we’ll look at…
🥾 Coastal Recharge Before the Badges,
👯 Config Commons: Street-Level Energy,
🪐 Out of Scope: Craft, Burnout & New Paths,
🍟 and extra things to bite it…
🥾 Coastal Recharge Before the Badges
Config hadn’t officially kicked off yet, but Day Zero already felt special.
Coming from the East Coast, I couldn’t sleep well the first few days — so I started the day early and picked up Jonathan Montalvo in a Waymo — a fully autonomous car that always feels like a glimpse into the near future. It’s one of those moments that reminds you why the Bay Area remains a tech epicenter.
We headed to the Hike & Coffee event hosted by Molly Hellmuth from UI Prep — a brilliant way to ease into the week while connecting with fellow designers. The trail delivered big time: fresh air, ocean views, and that crisp San Francisco light that hits differently. Every step felt like a soft reboot. I’m definitely bringing the family here next time.
Post-hike, we landed at Ocean Plant — a surf shack turned coffee spot, buzzing with Config attendees. The staff was clearly outnumbered, but still managed to serve up some excellent Andytown espresso. That mix of salty air and good coffee? Peak SF.
Want to check it out for yourself? Start here:
📍 Lands End Trail Eagles Point
916 El Camino Del Mar, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA
👯 Config Commons: Street-Level Energy
Right after the hike, we headed straight to the Config Commons at Moscone — and I’m glad we did.
The Config Commons block party was already buzzing: street closed, music on, people everywhere. It felt less like a design conference and more like a festival. This year’s layout forced people to move, talk, and mingle. Compared to last year — when the chill zones kept people in small circles — this setup pushed us into conversations. And it worked.
We grabbed our badges, scored the new swag (shoutout to the sweatshirt — beautifully made and already claimed by my wife), and ran into so many friends from the Friends of Figma crew. Huge thank you to everyone who stopped me to say they used my Config Guide — that meant the world.
And of course, it was the perfect moment to finally meet so many folks from the Brazilian crew. From our WhatsApp group to random shouts of “Aqui é Corinthians!” — it was a reminder that no matter where we are, we show up loud and proud.
🪐 Out of Scope: Craft, Burnout & New Paths
We closed the day at Freepik’s offsite event with the Out of Scope panel — and it turned out to be the most grounding moment of Day Zero.
Panelists:
Joey Banks – Founder of Baseline Design
Garron Engstrom – Design Director at Meta
John Rodrigues– Senior Product Designer at JPMorgan ChaseMichael J. Chagoya – Senior Design Recruiter at Faire
Each speaker brought their own lens on growth in design — and while some points felt familiar, they hit differently this time. Especially the conversation around the 🦹 “Super IC” path.
Garron shared how he once admired Mailchimp’s Aarron Walter and got noticed by adding value consistently — without asking for coffee or sending cold DMs. That approach resonated deeply. In Brazil, the only path forward was management. I led a team of 30 people and slowly drifted away from the craft, eventually burning out. 😩 Garron’s story reminded me that alternative career paths — where you stay close to the work — are still rare, even in Silicon Valley. It's time we rethink the outdated industrial management model and make room for designers to grow without leaving design behind.
Michael Chagoya added sharp insights from the recruiter’s seat. He stressed how essential it is to clarify your role in each project — what you actually did, how you moved the needle, and what made it uniquely yours. His advice? Keep your case studies clean, human, and focused. Simple, but powerful. Also… his sneakers? 🔥
Then Joey spoke about reducing social media — and I smiled 😊. I’d mentioned the same in my talk at FoF Miami. These days, if someone crosses my mind, I just send them a message. A voice note, a picture, a video. Joey might prefer a landline ☎️, but I’ve been practicing a slower, more intentional kind of 1:1 connection — social media without the feed.
Later, when Joey asked the room who was actively pursuing independence, only a few hands went up. Maybe most are still attached to the stability mindset. But for me, going independent is how I’ve always survived and grown. Coming from Brazil, I learned early on: there’s no safety net. Building DOJO+ and launching projects like Free Museum gives me the peace and creative space that traditional jobs often can’t.
I even shared a glimpse of a design system I built at OnChain Studios — a scalable setup that used Airtable to manage asset metadata and sync with Figma. I’ll share the full case study soon 🔜.
As a bonus twist to the day, I finally saw both Jonathans from Miami — Jonathan Montalvo and Jonathan Ruiz — in the same room for the first time. Years of knowing them separately, and Config brought it all together. That kind of synchronicity just happens here.
I also met another Brazilian designer from the gaming world, and we swapped stories about burnout, pivots, and the grind.
Huge thanks to Tamia James for putting the panel together and making space for these kinds of conversations. I didn’t get to hear all the top-voted questions answered live, but I had the chance to chat with some of the panelists afterward and left with new insights.
This panel wasn’t just a session — it was a reset. A reminder that there’s no one-size-fits-all path in design. And you don’t have to stop designing to grow.
I told my friend Fabio I’d give Day Zero a solid 7/10 — not because it lacked anything, but because I could feel how much more is coming.
🍟 BITes
🌴 Missed my talk at Friends of Figma, Miami? I shared thoughts on what designers should actually focus on to build resilient careers in the age of AI — and no, it's not about prompts. Watch it here.
🏛️ Want to explore San Francisco without spending a dime? Check out Free Museum — a side project I launched right before Config. It lists all the free museum days in SF, and I’m already working to expand it to other cities like London. Got a favorite museum story? Send it my way — I’d love to feature it!
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See you next week! 🤗
Juno
Designer, writer, educator, UX/UI Design advocate, and mentor for startups.
