Xiao Chen

Xiao Chen is a London-based Product Designer and Interaction Designer currently enrolled in the Design Products MA program at Royal College of Art.

Have gained practical experience in the field of sketch & prototype iteration, user research, and software skills (PS, AI, PR, Rhino, AutoCAD), she’s definitely able to critically analyze problems with a cross-cultural perspective.

Education

MA Design Products, Royal College of Art, Sep 2019 - Jul 2021

BE Industrial Design, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Sep 2015 - Jun 2019

Awards & Exhibitions

Work In Progress Online Show, Royal College of Art, London, 2021

Graduation Show, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 2019

National Marine Vehicle Design Competition, National First-class, Wuhan, 2018

‘Intellectual’ Industrial Design Competition, Provincial Level, Xi'an, 2018

National First-class Scholarship, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 2016

7 Appearance Design Patents, Enrolled in State Intellectual Property Office, 2016

I think designing products is also designing a world view. In the journey of being a designer, I have been spending six years understanding what the world is like, hoping to make life a little better. My latest experience is focused on finding physical objects that can contribute to better communication beyond dialogue, making any tiny interaction impactful and lively.

My projects this year are 1. PHYSICAL EMOJI. Someone may not have a good degree of emotional intelligence, like a sort of sensitivity. There are some excellent studies on if somebody has grown up without a carer/parent mirroring their emotions, a person can find communication much harder as they grow older, as they either don't recognize that they are embarrassed, when they express anger. The lack of correctly recognizing your emotions will lead to the communication route randomly. Sometimes it goes well, but sometimes may not.

Who got self-awareness of his emotion correctly would definitely choose a more appropriate expression. Physically, emotions can be seen and detected precisely by the device. Therefore, based on the nudge theory, I made a connection between wearable objects and human emotions, exploring emotion detection and soft reminders as ways to influence the behavior and decision-making of individuals through the medium of interactive jewelry.

2. HELLO! MY PERIOD. The inspiration for "Physical Emoji" comes from my last menstruation book project designed for girls (displayed in the last container). My design is to solve the nonverbal discomfort of menarche in adolescent girls aged 10-11. Some mothers are too embarrassed to discuss, ending the conversation with "you will know when you grow up". A few words of introduction cannot make this complicated issue clear.

Girls have the courage to have autonomy over their bodies. What they lack on the way to becoming a “period boss” is in-depth guidance. So I designed a kit, “Hello! My Period”, where parents and children may chat beyond dialogue, overcoming menstrual difficulties together. After mastering the relevant knowledge, what still bothers them to communicate is the complex and unspeakable emotions. This is how the two projects tell stories together.

Growing up in a family where my father serves as the engineering cartographer, maybe I have inherited the ‘gene’ of being curious about industrial design imperceptibly. During the exploring in OMI, I physically witness the process of how it happens from merely a tiny interaction to an influential product, which like magic tricks for me - it is building a crafted garden out of thin air, it is also painting the canvas.

I appreciate the power of objects as a mediation of communication whilst being both physically and mentally. As for me, it is the interdisciplinary journey that deals with practical issues, which owns a ‘Protean Face’, capable of having multiple features from various angles at different points in time.

Details — Super-close-ups of three models.

User Scenario — Here is a lovely story that people may communicate in different ways whether they recognize their emotions correctly or not.

The inspiration comes from my last menstruation book project designed for adolescent girls (displayed in the last container). After mastering the relevant knowledge, what still bothers them to communicate is the complex and unspeakable emotions. The lack of recognizing your emotions will lead to the communication route randomly. Sometimes it goes well, but sometimes may not. Who got self-awareness of his emotion correctly would definitely choose a more appropriate expression. Based on the nudge theory, I made a connection between wearable objects and human emotions in this project, exploring emotional intelligence through the medium of jewelry.

1. Earrings --> Angry — The aorta in the neck can clearly monitor the fluctuation of heartbeat and body temperature, which means the earrings will explode like animal fur when you are overly emotional.

2. Tiara --> Embarrassed — The eye tracker can observe unstable sight and fake smile, which means the black line will drop off from the tiara when you are embarrassed, like what's in the comics.

3. Ring series --> Anxious — The sensors can detect that you have been rubbing your hands, which means the ring series will emit a burning smell to remind you not to struggle in the current state.

4. Tiara --> Interested — The eye tracker can observe dispersed sight and eye-rolling, which means the ear will stand up when you are interested.

Medium:

Pearl, Wire, Metal sticker, Cotton, Thread, Metal sheet, Metal chain, Plastic sheet

Size:

150×66mm ×1, 180×169mm ×1, 22×23mm ×3

Playful Period Book — It is worth mentioning that in an interview with a sex educator, every parent who comes to consult will eventually ask: Are there any books that can be shown directly to their children? But the attitude and words of the parents are also very important. So most of my comic book is the knowledge part that has been drawn, and 15% is left for mother and daughter to complete together. Words written by her own mother are easier for children to absorb.

Period Teaching Kit — Cute props for girls to learn how to cope with menstruation. Interactions in this kit have also become a wonderful icebreaker to open up topics.