Design in Systems
An Emergent Paradigm Shift in Research & Practice
2025
Project images coming soon
An 80-page publication on the state of design, written and designed end-to-end in eight weeks at the Taiwan Design Research Institute.
Context
Internship at the Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI) in Taipei. TDRI had conducted quantitative analysis of 1,600+ conference papers, 890+ design school courses, and 240+ journal articles, identifying emerging themes in design research and practice. The plan was a Word document. I proposed something designers would actually want to read.
My Role
Primary author and designer. Wrote the entire publication: narrative arc, chapter structure, and a conversational-yet-serious tone. Created all original data visualizations and graphic frameworks. Handed off to a graphic design studio for final print-polishing, but every layout and visual detail was originally conceived by me.
The Challenge
How do you synthesize thousands of data points about the state of an entire field into something that’s both rigorous and genuinely enjoyable to read? How do you make a research publication feel like a manifesto?
Process
Developed the full narrative structure across six thematic chapters. Created original data visualizations translating quantitative findings into accessible graphic frameworks. Wrote in a conversational register that bridges academic rigor and practitioner accessibility. The goal was to have it ready ahead of the IASDR annual conference that December.
Outcome
80-page publication distributed at the IASDR 2025 annual conference in Taipei. Don Norman personally endorsed it, writing that it’s “important for all designers and should be included in design education curriculum.” Credited as co-author alongside TDRI Vice President and Senior Researcher.
Reflection
This publication was a testing ground for everything I’d learned in my first year at Stanford: systems thinking, graphic design, and translating theory into practice. It feels like a manifesto because I deeply align with its message about design’s expanding role in responding to complex challenges. All in eight weeks, in Taipei, at a national design institute.