Since being little, I found plenty of fun designing weird stuff such as a poetry brochure with a bowknot or a business suit for Barbie. However, design wasn’t deemed a lucrative job in Asia, so my passion was not quite supported by my family.
Similar work referenced from Baidu. Sadly, my old ones have been lost.
Instead, I studied Computer Science and Psychology in college, since I have been interested in tech and minds, and my family wasn't against it. I aimed for a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, in order to have a “successful life” that my family would be happy for. For them, and almost everyone else, I certainly have an enviable life. But only I knew I was very lost with my life.
my undergraduate research posters
For example, when I was an actress in the school drama club, I also designed brochures for my own show. Also, when I was doing my programming projects, I found myself having much more fun designing the components and functions of the product, rather than the actual coding part.
guess what show I was playing?
With full surprise, I learned the existence of UX design, which is a perfect field that combines my interest in people, tech and mot importantly, design. I started to study by myself and designed some silly apps. But throughout the process, I became certain that I do love this field, and that I am passionate about how to design better services and experiences for people, instead of how to improve my algorithms.
the first UX project I tried
After lots of conversations and thoughts, I decided not to do a PhD that I was not interested in, and applied to UX programs to learn skills in a systematic manner. Fortunately, my passion and effort have been heard by MHCI, my dream school. When my mom attended my commencement last April, she was still confused why I decided to study design in CMU. But she supported me in the end, saying that I did look happier.
mhci alumni and my favorite email so far
Looking back, my experience has honed my unique interdisciplinary background, making me understand people, design as well as technology. Having been a researcher, I am driven to create designs that users really need based on rigorous research. What more can I say? I feel really content with my life, with a career that realizes my adult passion and childhood dream.
my capstone project
Please always feel free to contact me! I am excited to be friends with designers, developers, PM... who share the same passion in making positive impacts to our users and the society. Let's grab a milk tea together. (I love bubble tea!)
my friends said this photo was mostly "designerly"
© Jing Hu
