MASTER OF DESIGN

Wayne Hongyuan Jiang

Master of Design

Wayne is a multidisciplinary designer passionate about creating fluid user experiences and interactions. Four years at Art Center College of Design drove him to pick up all the foundational design skills needed and create a good relationship with the industry.

While being an Interaction Design graduate student at the University of Washington, Wayne deepened his understanding and extended his practice to explore different forms of information visualization through various interactive prototypes.

As a designer, Wayne believes that design projects should not only live on concepts, as designers are responsible for going one step further to execute the envisioned ideas. Wayne's thesis project, partnering with Meta, adopts the Research through Design (RtD) methodology and explores the opportunity to use Augmented Reality technology to enhance the user experience of data technicians in data centers.

Chen Wei

Master of Design

Chen is an interdisciplinary designer who specializes in industrial and interaction design. She has always had a strong interest in hands-on problem-solving, which led her to pursue a career in design. After switching majors several times during her undergraduate studies, she finally found her passion at the California College of the Arts, where she started creating intricate physical objects, designing intuitive user experiences, and crafting digital interfaces.

During her time at the University of Washington, Chen had the opportunity to combine her knowledge of industrial and interaction design with psychology, anthropology, and other fields to create more humanistic designs. She also served as a teaching assistant in the School of Art + Art History + Design. For her thesis project, she explored the application of online whiteboard tools in higher design education to optimize the learning experience, efficiency, and outcomes for students with different personalities.

Chen aspires to use her design skills to bring convenience, make contributions, and even change people's lifestyles. As a designer, she firmly believes in the power of thoughtful design to impact people's lives in meaningful ways.

Chen Wei, Mockup Scene, 2023. Chen Wei, Promoting Effective Interaction in Critiques Through Online Tools. Courtesy of the designer.

Claire Florence Weizenegger Master

of Design

Born in Switzerland as the youngest daughter of a stonemason, I spent most of my time in my father's workshop, where my desire for arts, crafts, and design grew. After finishing the apprenticeship as a Stonemason with honors, I pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Industrial and Product Design. As a Master of Design (MDes) student at the University of Washington, I am passionate about expanding my thinking about the future of technology, society, and how it shapes our sense of being within the frame of our everyday domestic lives. Scholarships from design, philosophy, humanities, and science & technology social studies inform my research. During my twoyear master's program, I have been a Teaching Assistant across several departments at UW.

For my thesis, I focus on Voice Assistants (VAs) and the repercussions of their design and engineering decisions. As other critical scholars observe, Alexa, Siri, and others can exploit or reinforce stereotypical social relations. My work challenges this and reimagines how everyday life with a voice interface in a domestic environment could look.

Awards

2022 Gonzalez Graduate Student Scholarship for Excellence in Design, University of Washington

2022 Ikea Scholarship, Ikea Foundation Switzerland

2021 Top Scholar Award, University of Washington

2021 Fulbright Scholarship, US Department of State

Melanie Wells Master of Design

Melanie is a multidisciplinary designer passionate about creating services, experiences, and interactions. She previously studied at Chapman University in Southern California, where she earned degrees in Graphic Design and Business Administration (Marketing). Prior to graduate school she worked at a sustainable architecture firm, where she helped rebrand the company and spearheaded the firm's environmental graphic design practice.

While an MDes Interaction Design graduate student, Melanie deepened her practice and developed key skills needed to translate human, organizational, and societal needs into more desirable systems, services, and interactions.

As a designer and researcher, Melanie has an optimistic vision for the future. She believes that, at the intersection of design, technology, and people, there is a unique opportunity to make meaningful progress tackling the most challenging human problems that face our world. She is excited and inspired by these challenges, and through her own contribution, hopes to make a lasting positive impact through critical research, responsible practice, and inspired activism. Melanie's thesis project explores the opportunity to enhance the practice of Design for Social Innovation by creating meaningful connections between grassroots projects focused on positive social change.

Awards

2022 Dallas Endowed Fellowship; University of Washington

2021 Top Scholar Award; University of Washington

2016 Purcell Award; Chapman University

2016 Margo Pawell Award; Chapman University