In this era of rapid change, design is no longer just a manifestation of aesthetics; it has become an important tool for driving social progress and creating profound impacts. Against this backdrop, Shuyi Liu, a service experience designer with far-reaching vision and innovative thinking, is committed to creating significant social value in service and experience design with her unique design concepts and methods.
Shuyi Liu’s story started with a simple yet strong curiosity: How do human behaviors and social interactions shape our lives? This curiosity began to grow during her early education. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in Communication Engineering, Shuyi realized that design transcends the traditional definitions of appearance and functionality. She came to understand that true design is about deeply understanding user needs and behaviors. This insight led to a significant career shift, focusing her professional attention on service experience design and seeking solutions through social science research methods.
Ever since learning about the establishment of the New Bauhaus in 1937 in Chicago, which later evolved into today’s IIT Institute of Design, Chicago, Shuyi Liu has been filled with admiration for Chicago’s rich design culture and its outstanding historical achievements. Her passion and professional ambition led her to cross oceans to this sanctuary of design. There, she not only earned her Master’s degree in design but also studied in depth how service design can benefit diverse social groups. Her projects spanned from empowering traditional industries with computer/AI/chip technology to sustainable community energy design. Her achievements were recognized in the academic world and also received significant recognition at international design awards. Her team’s research on the current American food system, which integrated elements of psychology, anthropology, and sociology, led to a more empathetic and inclusive service experience. This project, titled “Envisioning Sustainable Food Sourcing Solutions,” focused on key areas such as production, distribution, procurement, consumption, and disposal, helping her and her team win the ‘Core77 Design Awards 2021 – Category Design for Social Impact’.
Additionally, her work in the “Aid City of Chicago in Parking Ticket Reform” project showcased her diverse capabilities. The project, aimed at addressing urban parking issues, was innovative and practical enough to be a finalist in the Fast Company 2020 Innovation by Design Awards student category. These projects reflected her passion for creating a harmonious society, improving the efficiency of public services, and significantly enhancing people’s quality of life through the integration of the humanities. She believes that by focusing on human needs and deeply understanding different cultural backgrounds, more humane and sustainable social solutions can be created. Her work demonstrates that the power of design lies not only in its aesthetic value but also in its profound social impact and change.
After graduation, Shuyi Liu quickly shifted her focus to bridging the gap between academia and industry, a challenge she deeply understood. To help students transition more smoothly, she co-founded a volunteer organization with like-minded friends. The organization provided students with a smooth transition from academia to profession through a series of thematic discussions and practical activities. During this phase, she focused not only on her professional growth but also actively participated in community service, helping others.
In this stage, Shuyi Liu’s focus was on bridging the gap between theory and practice. Knowing that the transition from academia to the professional world is a challenge for many students, she committed herself to helping students gain valuable practical experience through projects, workshops, and lectures. Her work was not limited to teaching design theory but more importantly, teaching students how to apply these theories to solve real-world problems. Through these efforts, she helped students better understand the practical significance of service design and how it could change people’s lives.
To utilize her professional skills on a more powerful platform and contribute to society, she joined a multinational design consulting company in California. Here, she not only applied her academic knowledge to practical projects but also continued to explore the potential of service design in creating social value. In this company, which highly aligned with her values and methodologies, she led several service experience design projects with profound social value and impact. These projects included designing financial benefits for employees of technology companies, providing emotional support and solutions for people experiencing unplanned pregnancies, and more. Additionally, she tirelessly explored new ways to create social value, co-founding a design studio. They designed a psychology-based journaling app for people who lost pets, a breathing-based board game for people tired from fast-paced social life, and an educational app for pre-teens. These innovative projects won several international design awards, including the MUSE DESIGN AWARDS silver medal, The NY Product Design Awards silver medal, and two London Design Awards gold medals.
Photo Credited to: Shuyi Liu
Photo Credited to: Shuyi Liu
Photo Credited to: Shuyi Liu
Photo Credited to: Shuyi Liu
During her time in California, Shuyi Liu not only demonstrated her skills and innovative ability as a designer but also her potential as a thought leader and agent of social change. Her work expanded beyond traditional service design to focus on solving larger social issues through design. Her projects often involved complex social issues such as economic inequality, social health, and environmental sustainability. Her designs aimed not just to solve these problems but also to inspire people to rethink these issues and encourage more proactive societal action.
As a service experience designer, Shuyi Liu’s work goes far beyond the boundaries of commercial design. Based on her exploration of human behavior and social structures, she has created both humane and efficient social service experiences. Her story is not just about personal career development but also about how to use design as a tool to solve complex social problems. She believes that by better understanding the people we serve, we can design more impactful and lasting services, thereby bringing positive changes to society. Shuyi Liu’s journey and achievements are an inspiration to all those seeking design innovation and social impact. Her work shows that service design is not just a profession but a force for driving social progress.
