Qingdao were thick with heat, the cicadas screaming and the air heavy with the briny scent of the morning’s catch. My uncle always ran out early, before the sun got too intense, returning with a plastic bag full of cold beer. I could see the water droplets on the bag, foam bubbling at the top, a simple yet perfect remedy to the heat.
Baggy Beer 01
Cheers to Bold Identity
Baggy Beer celebrates the quirky, resourceful beer culture of Qingdao—where locals once carried beer in bowls, cans, and thermoses. Inspired by this odd but meaningful tradition, the project turns a disposable habit into a sustainable product. It’s a nod to cultural memory, redesigned for everyday use with purpose and personality. Fun fact* because it’s served in bags, the beer is sold by weight—typically 4 to 15 RMB per halfkilogram (about a pound).
Design Decisions
The BrewPouch reimagines the classic beer bag with an eco-friendly, reusable twist. Using glass for elegance, aluminum for durability, and silicone for flexibility, it’s designed for all occasions—whether home, outdoors, or on-the-go.
At 2.325 inches wide and 7.75 inches tall, it’s a sleek, balanced shape that enhances the experience of mindful enjoyment.
The color palette, inspired by Qingdao’s Camellia japonica flower, symbolizes resilience and seasonality, bridging tradition with modern design.
A Ticket to the NPC'S Daydream
PROJECT ROLE
TOOLS
YEAR
Projection Installation
Visual Design
Concept Dev
Premiere Pro
Photoshop After Effects
Madmapper
Spring 2024
Whatif an NPC could dream, glitch, and break free from its script? Fluid Spaces is an interactive projection mapping installation—an entryway into a mixed reality world that invites viewers into the fragmented daydream of a selfaware NPC.
02
Final Review | Photo by Nikki Blandford, 2024.
Greenscreen Footage | by Merel's Junior Studio crews, 2024.
Zine Showcase at Ken Sanders Rare Book Store, Salt Lake City, UT | 2024.
Zine | 2024.
| 2024.
Design Creation Journey
Started by collecting assets and visual elements, then built quick prototypes to explore NPC logic and mood. Used motion design, editing, and layering to shape the narrative. Designed print zines to extend the world—mixing text, glitches, and textures—later shown at Ken Sanders Rare Books.
Sketching
Final Outcome
Fluid Spaces explores the NPC’s memories, environment, and digital mind—shifting them from background code to fragmented, expressive beings. Through dreamy visuals and layered glitches, it blurs the line between player and system, control and chaos.
Photo by Nikki Blandford, 2024.
Nom Nom Now 03
PROJECT ROLE UI Prototyping UIUX Interaction
Prototyping
The prototyping process followed key UX/UI principles including hierarchy, affordance, and feedback. I built mid- to high-fidelity wireframes in Figma with clear CTAs, scrollable layouts, and responsive screens.
I also used AI-powered plugins to support layout suggestions, streamline repetitive tasks, and explore variations quickly—making the process faster and more efficient. Color choices were informed by animal vision research, using hues like blue and yellow that are more visible to both cats and dogs.
Branding + Storytelling
The menu experience was crafted with a narrative-driven design approach, where each dish is paired with playful microcopy inspired by pet behavior and lore. This added emotional engagement while enhancing scannability.
Customization flows were kept minimal and icon-based, allowing users to quickly adjust portion size or protein type—mirroring real fast food apps but with a whimsical, animal-centric twist.
User Flow + Accessibility
The flow was designed to minimize cognitive load and reduce decision fatigue, following principles like progressive disclosure and predictable navigation.
Layouts were informed by pet-owner behavior research, prioritizing quick access to reorders, favorites, and species-specific menus—all within thumb-friendly zones.
Sunset Canyon
PROJECT ROLE TOOLS YEAR
Architecture & Interior Study
Spatial Design ·Landscape Hand Drawing Spring 2021
Homein Utah - Sunset Canyon. Designed before my move to Utah in 2021, this two-story residence reflects a desire for calm and connection. Minimal in form and embedded in the canyon landscape, it features sustainable elements like solar panels and soft watercolor details—Ginkgo trees, a lap pool, warm and cool tones—echoing the peace I was seeking in the desert's quiet vastness.
inspired by Junichiro Tanizaki's aesthetic principles from In Praise of Shadows.
A light well concept, focusing on enhancing interior natural light and shadow play
Desert Harmony
The design centers around a serene courtyard, inspired by the Japanese genkan 玄關, with natural light, shadow play, and desert views.
The interior floor plan with integrated outdoor garden design.
Rooftop indoor pool with floor-toceiling windows overlooking the Nakaniwa (中庭).
Small Moments Small Joys
PROJECT ROLE TOOLS YEAR
Product & Emotional Design
Product · Homestyle
Rhino · Illustrator ·Premiere Pro Spring 2025
05
Faai3Luck turns everyday routines into small moments of joy. Each time you open it, a fortune appears, adding a sparkle of surprise. In the pursuit of meaning within the meaningless, I add a piece to the puzzle of my life—small moments fitting together to create a bigger, richer whole.
Chopsticks Making
Making | 2025 Laser Cutting | 2025
This project blends emotional design and Kansei Engineering to turn a simple chopstick drawer into a joyful experience.
Inspired by Omikuji fortunes, each use brings a small surprise. It’s about finding meaning in everyday moments, adding a bit of luck, joy, and personal connection to daily life.
This 2-minute video is a preview—a project. It captures quiet moments and sets the tone for everything that From 2-minute video to design
design & making
preview—a small, personal glimpse into my of joy, drawn from my own memories, that followed.
The process involved sketching, handcrafting, and transforming designs into digital models for accuracy. It included laser cutting, assembly, and lots of testing to refine the final outcome.
Senior Exhibition| 2025.
Green River, a small town in Southern Utah, is widely known for its annual Melon Days Festival, celebrating its deep agricultural roots in its watermelon farming.
Dark StudiesSky x Epicenter
PROJECT
ROLE
TOOLS
YEAR
Environment & Light Study
Exhibit Design · Research
Illustrator· Photoshop · InDesign Fall 2023
Melon Slices at Salt Lake Design Week | 2023.
Project Journey
In the first three weeks, we designed a parade float and interactive activities for Green River’s Melon Days Festival, celebrating its watermelon heritage. During my visit, I conducted fieldwork and discovered the stunning night sky— an insight that inspired my dark sky–focused project brief, later presented at Salt Lake Design Week.
Preparing the Field Studio Melon Slices | Photos by Curtis Shosted, 2023.
Salt Lake Design Week | 2023.
Building Melon Slices for Melon Days | 2023.
Site Visit in Green River | 2023.
From Digital to Clay
PROJECT ROLE TOOLS YEAR
Material Translation & Digital 3D Modeling Blender · Rhino · Hand Tools · Fusion 360 Fall 2023
#1 Ripples
#4 Sake
#2 Pumpkin
#5 Mimosa
Thisproject
combines 3D modeling, rendering, and clay fabrication to bring a digital design to life. Using a 3D clay printer, the concept was translated from virtual form to physical object, blending digital precision with the tactile nature of clay to explore new possibilities in design and fabrication.
Design Process
It began with hand sketching and concepts intuitively. These then translated into precise Rhino and Fusion 360, where digitally refined and rendered surface, and material possibilities.
The finalized models were a clay 3D printer, transforming into physical objects through of real clay. From there, the refined, and enhanced by machine accuracy with human
Finally, glazing and color applied by hand to highlight bring warmth and individuality
This workflow pushes the boundaries craft and technology, offering think about form, material, making.
Review | Photo by Nikki Blandford, 2023.
Idea sketching | 2023.
sketching to explore shapes
These sketches were precise 3D models using where the forms were rendered to visualize scale, possibilities.
were brought to life using transforming digital geometry through layered extrusion the pieces were cleaned, hand — blending human touch.
were thoughtfully highlight the textures and individuality to each piece.
boundaries between offering a new way to material, and the future of
Color and glazing | 2023.
3D printing in process | 2023.
For our final project, Lim and I created inspired by the bento meals. We item—tamagoyaki, bottle—in Fusion designing them individual objects
3D Modeling in Fusion 360 | 2024.
3D Printed with PLA | 2024.
Flatpack Bento
Prototyping Methods 08
Playbecomes
the lens for translating 3D forms into flat, buildable objects. Through laser cutting and CNC fabrication, we created a flatpack model kit designed for hands-on interaction, function, and fun.
project, my teammate Jayee created a flatpack lunch box form and playfulness of started by modeling each item—tamagoyaki, onigiri, and a Yakult 360 and Rhino, carefully to fit together as both objects and part of a larger kit.
We then used CNC milling, casting and 3D printing to fabricate our prototypes, making sure each part could be assembled from two flat sheets. The final design packs neatly into a bento-shaped tray, turning packaging into part of the experience.
Pruser Slicer | 2024.
Bento Lunch Box
Case Study
Research
Illustrator · Canva · Procreate Spring 2022
Hustle Culture in East Asia
In my sophomore year, I conducted an independent cultural case study on hustle culture in high-population, fast-developing societies across East Asia, focusing on China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea over the last half century.
Through qualitative research and crosscultural analysis, I examined how rapid economic growth and traditional values such as Confucian ideals of duty and hierarchy have shaped work culture and mental health.
The study highlighted how generationally inherited pressure continues to influence modern behaviors, while also revealing a shift among younger generations toward resisting overwork and redefining success.
This was an early project that pushed me to think critically about culture and identity, skills I continue to apply in my later work.
You've made it to the end ;)
If something stayed with you, even for a moment, then this journey was worth it.
