Dantley Davis on Adversity, Intentionality, and Designing for Others

At Config 2021, Figma’s virtual design conference, Twitter’s Chief Design Officer Dantley Davis closed out the second day with a keynote on his path to the role, the hurdles digital products face, and how he turns adversity into impact. In the second installment of Figma’s series featuring design leaders beyond their work, Davis answered 25 quick questions about everything from fonts to fear. The conversation offers a rare glimpse into his personal philosophy and working style.

Process and Mindset

Davis sums up his creative process in a single word: intentional. He says he is at his best when he carves out time for side projects, noting that he needs space to be creative outside of work. For him, the ideal design is one that addresses a problem he didn’t know he had—but once solved, becomes indispensable.

On collaboration, Davis values teammates who are “curious and don’t have an ego.” He elaborates that a real team dynamic emerges when members openly seek feedback, inspire one another, and keep ego out of the equation. His biggest pet peeve is designing for yourself, and his greatest fear is that someone has no reaction to his work at all.

Influences and Inspiration

Davis names his admired figure as Issa Rae, praising her ability to write, produce, and act while staying authentic to her own story. If he could invite anyone to critique his team’s work, it would be Clement Mok—the first professional designer Davis was aware of early in his career—whose work left a lasting impact on him.

In the design world, Davis considers thought leadership overrated, and underrated the practice of using data to inform your work. An unsung design he champions is Roblox, which he argues stands out because it lets kids play, socialize, and build—a contrast to apps that focus purely on consumption.

Practical Preferences and Career Reflections

Davis’s taste runs specific: he would bring back the 1990s web aesthetic, with its <blink> tags, and names Montserrat as his favorite UI font. In questions about tools and palettes, he answered with the typeface Akzidenz-Grotesk, the color space Hex (#000000) and the platform’s observation mode as his favorite Figma feature.

On past projects, he admits disliking how long it took to remove a feature when it wasn’t benefiting people meaningfully. He names building “the most diverse team in tech” as the greatest accomplishment of his career. His long-held design dream is a car interface, and he also has a clear ambition to be the mastermind behind Porsche’s entire ecosystem—from the driving experience to the app. His advice for a younger designer self: study adjacent disciplines like business, engineering, and finance to become a more well-rounded thinker.

Davis says his relationship with Design Twitter is that of a mentor, sharing his experience navigating the tech world as a design practitioner and leader to help others. As a recent favorite from the internet, he cites Afrotech’s virtual conference, which used avatars to create a sense of presence in a remote setting.

Want more? Watch Davis’s keynote from Config 2021 on YouTube, or check out the other 40-plus breakout sessions from the event.