[julie-liang]

Meet Bee, a self-sufficient smart device that can allow consumers to grow exotic crops in the comfort of their own home. I created Bee as a spin-off product from the accompanying app Sprout. Produce is grown in the top dome and is immersed in ultraviolet light. Users can track growth on the interactive screen under the dome. When the crops are ready, they are dropped into the lower container.

[julie-liang]

Updates on my chair progress! I’m currently trying to create the seat and back from a bent lamination process. These are images from the first trial - the compound curve proved too intense and the plywood cracked in the bag. I will shave the foam jig down for my next iteration for a smoother transition. 

[julie-liang]

Michael Bierut from Pentagram talks about developing the branding for Hilary’s campaign in the Design Observer. He provides an interesting reflection on the campaign branding - worth a read. 

[julie-liang]

Stacy & I reformatted YAWYR for the senior show. We thought the project would translate better in a gallery setting as a participatory installation. 

[julie-liang]

I’m really digging these subversive border wall concepts created by architect and researcher Ronald Rael, published in his book Borderwall as Architecture. 

[julie-liang]

New cards! Scratch off for a secret message ;) 

[julie-liang]

Brushing up on my rendering skills with a set of Simpsons lunch boxes :) 

[julie-liang]

I’m currently taking a Brown University class on public speaking to improve my speech habits - we give speeches in class and are critiqued after. We also film them and play them back to assess our own performance. I still need some work on my cadence and gesture, but I can see improvements already. 

[julie-liang]

A friend recently introduced me to Perspective, an API that aims to improve online conversations. Perspective scores internet comments based on “toxicity” and offers the option to filter through harmful or ineffective content. This is an interesting way to encourage users to engage in meaningful conversations online.  

I ran into the same topic & challenge when doing research for media intake in YAWYR. A myriad of factors decrease the amount of effective internet conversation - it’s easy to act aggressive or sarcastic online when users are engaging with others through a screen. Anonymity also plays a role when repercussion or responsibility is absent. I’m very interested to see where this project will lead. 

[julie-liang]

Just had the awesome opportunity to meet Joe Gebbia from Airbnb in person! As a RISD trustee, he’s here often - today he asked a small group of RISD students to critique his upcoming speech for an upcoming design conference. He’s great at speaking and I’m now taking the same speech course he took at Brown.

It was so awesome to see him in person. It’s important to note that Airbnb has not only given designers agency at RISD - but designers worldwide.

[julie-liang]

Getting a metals welding demo by Will, the shop tech. 

My first chair will be made of hard materials - which may include metal. 

[julie-liang]

I’m taking chair studio my last semester here at RISD. I’ve taken mostly systems design classes during my time in Industrial Design and it’s great to be able to refamiliarize myself with a more traditional, product based process. 

Above is my first mockup built to test chair comfort. Super excited to see what I’ll be producing by the end of the semester! :) 

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Designed and typeset a booklet on the basics of design thinking. I would love to mass - distribute these to those outside of the creative fields. 

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The very awesome James Goggin of Practise attending our critique.

[julie-liang]

I created fictional glyphs for one of my favorite typefaces, GZA Seminegra by fontseek. Really fun way to practice type!

[julie-liang]

Working on some poster iterations 

[julie-liang]

I’m in the process of redesigning my website from scratch - here is a process shot of some screen variations.