PersonalStatement
Ioftenunderstandthingsbytranslatingonesenseintoanother.WhenIfirstheardthe sharp,noisysoundoffishslappingagainstabasket,Ididn'tjusthearnoise,Isaw shapes.Itriedtodrawthesoundusingpointsandlines,turningtherhythmintoa visualstructure.Later,whenIplayedBeethoven's Moonlight Sonata,Ipaintedthe musicinaKandinsky-inspiredstyletounderstandhowitflowed.Theseexperiments mademerealizethatIlovecrossingboundaries,usingvisualstocapturesoundand designtocaptureemotion
Mybackgroundisamixofartandmusic.AchievingABRSMGrade8inpianoand winninga"BestPerformanceinArt"awardinschooltaughtmediscipline,butmytime asavocalaccompanisttaughtmesomethingevenmoreimportant:howtothinklikea designer.Irealizedthatmyjobwasn'ttobethestar,buttosupportthesoloistwiththe rightharmony ThisisexactlyhowIviewdesign WhetherIammakingaproductoran algorithm,mygoalistocreateabackgroundsystemthathelpstheuser,justlikean accompanisthelpsasinger.
Since2024,Ihavestartedusingtechnologyasanewtoolforcreativity.Inthe ShanghaiNVIDIAMetaverseprogram,IutilizedtheNVIDIAOmniverseplatformto create"EmotionSync."Insteadofjustbuildingastatic3Dmodel,Ifocusedontheuser experience,suchasprogramminghowlightingandsoundcouldactivelyshifta person'smoodastheynavigatedadigitalspace.
Ialsoreturnedtomyoriginalinspirationtosolveareal-worldproblem.Iworkedona projectcalled"DeepLens,"whereIdesignedAR&AIeyewearforthefishing community.Ididn'tjustwanttomakeacoolgadget,IwantedtouseLLManddatato helpusersidentifycatcheswhilekeepingthehardwareintuitiveandnon-intrusive. Thisprojectsparkedmyinterestinhowintelligencecanbeembeddedintoeveryday objects
IamapplyingtoSUTD'sBScinDesignandArtificialIntelligence(DAI)becauseI believethefutureofdesignliesinthepartnershipbetweenhumancreativityand machineintelligenceespeciallywhenweareenteringaworldwhereartificial intelligenceshouldbebetterdesignedandutilized.Iamlookingforaprogramthat goesbeyondtraditionalaestheticsandchallengesmetobuilddata-driven,intelligent systems.SUTD'suniquefocusontechnologyandits"BetterWorldbyDesign" philosophymakeittheperfectplaceformetotransformmyartisticbackgroundinto technicalinnovation
“RideTrackZhuhai”-CyclingRecordingandSocialExplorationAPPDesignPlan
January2026
Individualwork Location: Zhuhai,
China
My love for cycling sparked the idea for this app. I enjoy biking around Zhuhai and taking photos, but the pictures and GPS routes always remained separate. I once manually pinned photos onto a map and connected them with red lines to create a visual portfolio, which felt incredibly rewarding. However, the process was too time-consuming,andthefinalworkwashardtoshareorreuse. This made me realize a gap: there’s no tool that automatically weaves together cycling routes, photos, and geographical storytelling. Existing fitness apps only trackdata,whilesocialplatformslosespatialcontext.
App the of Origin
cyclinghobby (Bayside rides + photography)
Pain Points: Photos separated from GPS routes; manual creation of route photo albums (time-consuming and difficult); Market Gap
storybook and compass crafted for urban cycling explorers.
CoreFeatures
So, I envisioned building an “experience weaver.” It would automatically link routes and photos during a ride and generate a visual map-based story with one tap afterward. More importantly, it could turn personal journeys into shared inspiration transforming individual memories into a collective map for the community. This appwouldbeastorybookandacompassforurbanexplorerslikeme.
ShortcomingsofExistingTools
Fitness apps only track data. Social platforms lose geographical context. Lack of dedicated tools.
For the Individual Simplifies the process ofpreserving memories. FortheCommunity
Automaticallylinks routes and photos during a ride. Generates a visualized map-based story with one tap post-ride. Transforms personal experiences into shared inspiration.
Creates a collective map to foster shared inspiration. Possesses both the attribute of a cycling memory vessel and a practical guide for urban cycling.
“RideTrackZhuhai”-CyclingRecordingandSocialExplorationAPPDesignPlan
January2026
I.ProjectPositioningandCoreConcept
ProjectName:RideTrackZhuhai
Product Positioning: A location-based immersive cycling experience recording and sharing platform, integrating route tracking, visual storytelling, and community exploration features
Core Concept: Transform each cycling trip into a shareable, reproducible, and explorable immersiveexperiencestory.
RideTrack
Zhuhai
CompleteCyclingExperience:
Before Riding: Select recommended routes or customize plans → View route details and preparationtips
During Ride: Enable automatic recording → Focus on cycling with voice-controlled photos →Viewreal-timedata
After Ride: Automatic cycling log generation →
communitysharing
Follow-up: Review historical records → Discover new routes → Interact with cycling friends
PrimaryUserGroups:
Local Cycling Enthusiasts : Regular cycling exercisers focusedondatarecordingandrouteoptimization.
Tourist Cyclists: Visitors cycling in Zhuhai seeking route recommendationsandscenicexploration.
Photography Cyclists : Visual creators who enjoy shooting duringrides.
Urban ExplorationYouth: Young people who enjoy exploring citycornersanddiscoveringnewpaths
FitnessBeginners:Exerciseenthusiastsnewtocycling
V.VisualandInteractiveDesign
InterfaceDesignPrinciples:
Map as Core: Maintain map as primary background visual feature
RedLine-PinAesthetics:Continuevisuallanguagefromuser's originalportfolio
Immersive Experience: Large image displays with simplified operationflow
MainInterfaceDesigns:
Homepage: Map background highlighting current location and nearbypopularroutes
Recording Interface: Minimalist design for easy operation duringrides
Story Editing Interface: Drag-and-drop timeline editing, intuitiveanduser-friendly
Discovery Page: Waterfall flow display of high-quality cycling stories
Module1:IntelligentCyclingRecorder
Module2:Story-basedCyclingLog
Module3:CommunityExplorationandSharing
Module4:PracticalToolkit
II.TargetUserPersonas
III.CoreFeatureDesign
IV.UserExperienceFlow
DeepLens-AR&AIenabledfishingeyewear
January2026
Individualwork
Location:Zhuhai,China
Ilovefishingwithmydad,butIalsowonderwhatifwecanseewhatliesbeneath?
Tome,fishingisoftenagameofguessing, butIdevelopedDeepLenstoturnitintoa science.
Holographicdisplayswouldallowusertosee therealworldbutalsotheaugmentedreality overlaywhichshowsadditionalinformation
DeepLensisequippedwithalivedatasyncingmodule whichcouldcommunicatewithadedicateddatasource thathasavailablescanneddataoftheseabed
Afterinterviewingusers,Ihavecollectedseveralrequirementsfordeveloping thisproduct.DeepLensprovidesinsights inrealtimeusinglatestAIandbigdata. Whetheritischeckingscanneddataof theoceanorfindingthebestandpopular spotsforfishing,DeepLensempowers fishermentomakesmarterdecisions, seamlesslyblendinglatestARandAItech-
nologieswithfishing.
Itcanalso visualiseocean currentthat’s usefulforpeoplewhoare keentounderstandthelive dataofthesea current
Oceancurrentmode
Itcanalsovisualiseoceancurrentsthatareusefulforpeoplewhoarekeentounderstandthelivedataofthesea current
Giventhepotentialuseradoption,indicatingpopularfishingareasdirectlyonDeepLensispossible.TheinformationofdifferentareaswillbevisualisedontheDeepLens andthereforeithelpsuserstoquicklynavigatebetween differentfishingspots
Emotion Sync
September 2024 PersonalWork
Team:HongjinLiu,HaomingGuo,ShengxuanTang
Location:Shanghai,China
Format:Video(54s)
VideoLink: https://youtu.be/5c4VzQpCjgA
Thisprojectexplorestheintersectionofatmosphere andspatialmovement.DevelopedusingNVIDIA Omniverse,thisprojectdivesintodark,mooddrivenenvironments,fromfloodedcorridorstomisty stairwells,pushingtheboundariesoftextureand lighting.Pairedwithimmersive,spatialsounddesign, theprojectdrawstheuserdeepintothenarrative.
industrialinteriorstosurrealseascape
CompositionVI
August 2024 PersonalWork
Individualwork
Location:Zhuhai,China
Thisstudyvisualizesthe acousticrhythmoffish threshinginsideawoven basket.Inspiredbythese erraticsounds,Itranslated theauditoryexperienceinto visualformsusingpoints andlines.
InKandinsky’simagination,"primalchaos"represents thecollisionandfusionofmultipleworlds,accompanied bythunderousroars,fromwhoseconflictsandradiance, anewcosmicorderemerges.
https://youtu.be/VipoP_scZGU
VideoLink:
Infigures4through 6,Iexplored‘Line’ and‘Plane’tocapture intensity.Theaggressive,angularstrokes mimicthesharp, abrasivefrictionof thesubjectmatter
Kandinskybelievedthat‘form istheouterexpressionofinnercontent.’ Byapplyinghis theoriesfromPointandLineto Plane,Iattemptedtovisualize soundwithoutusingtraditional waveforms.Thegoalwasto findorderinthe‘primalchaos’ oftheorganicworld,suchas sounds.
Figures 1 through 3 focus on the ‘Point.’ The density of the dots creates a visual weight, representing the dull thuds and the repetitive, low-frequency impact of the movement.
Vibration
May 2025
Individual
work
Location:Zhuhai,China
Throughanin-depthstudyofKandinsky’sworksandtheories,Idevelopedastronginterestintheconceptofsoundvisualizationandbegan exploringhowthisabstractideacouldbeexpressedineverydaylife.
Ichosewaterasamediumformyexperimentbecauseofitsfluidityandabilityto visuallyrespondtovibration.Idropped inkintowateranduseddifferentsound frequenciestocreatevibrationsonthe surface,allowingthesoundtoshapedistinctripplepatterns.Idocumentedthese transformationsthroughphotography andvideo,aimingtocapturethemoment whensoundbecomesvisible.
Soft Vibration
Intense Vibration
