Today we’d like to introduce you to Xiaoyi Li.
Hi Xiaoyi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Hi, my name is Xiaoyi, I was born in Shandong, which is the birthplace of Confucius culture in the eastern part of northern China. I currently live in Savannah, GA. My dad is proficient in Chinese painting, he gave me my first enlightenment. When I grew up, I chose to devote myself to the path of art, which was also my original intention. My major in college is visual commutation. We do not limit any materials and forms and freely conduct visual explorations. I have found the power of design, design can touch people, inspire, or save lives, and I want to continue my studies in this field after graduation. I am a very curious person, I like freshness and experience different cultures, so I chose to pursue MFA of graphic design and visual experience at Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated this year. In my postgraduate life, because of my upbringing, I was particularly interested in psychology and human emotions, and I have been researching how to use emotional design to support our well-being in digital age. I found that I could continue to study interaction design to add to it, this is what I am doing now, always stay hungry for knowledge. I really like a speech by Steve Jobs – Connecting The Dots. All the steps I choose will be connected to a line. Every experience is like a door, opening a bigger world for me, but it is also full of challenges. When you pass through doors on the road of passion, you will feel very fulfilled and happy.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I believe that if a road is tough, it must be an uphill road. That means heights and more beautiful scenery are waiting for you. It’s not a smooth road, and you may encounter all kinds of problems, even if it’s just a small thing. A lot of times my choices are outside my comfort zone, like in every project or concept, I might try the one I’m least good at or beyond my abilities. This will indeed make you depressed for a while because you will find difficulties coming, but I will remind myself that you must have a strong inner confidence in you to make this choice, so don’t be afraid. In China, there is a phenomenon that parents use perfectionism standards to expect their children, but I have now gotten rid of this influence, the process is the most precious, life is not a competition, and there is no failure, either you win, or you have grown.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Designers have to be forward-looking. Combined with the current context, I have been doing emotional design. Whether it’s a book representation of child psychology or a data visualization of emotions in music, I’ve been exploring these directions. In my opinion, Technology has changed the way we perceive the world and affects our behavior. In today’s society, we are fascinated by the cognitive impact of technology, how it can help, but we are less concerned with the emotional impact it has on us every day. Technology is two-sided, it can help make our lives convenient and it can connect us to others, or it can become an addiction and isolate us. Technology occupies every corner of our lives, but it cannot judge whether we are sad, excited, or bored, nor can it encourage us to recognize our emotions. Therefore, emotional design is very important. In this era of companionship, wearable, and virtual artificial intelligence, we should rethink design for our emotional well-being.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What I care about is the experience of life. Maybe there are voices around you that say what to do and what to achieve at this age. Abandon these voices, we are freer than we think, today you have a variety of meanings in life, no one can define it for you, your meaning in life comes from you, you may find it inadvertently. Every experience and choice has meaning, time will make it into a line, take your time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.behance.net/JOEYLI/projects
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xi_yil/
Image Credits
xiaoyi Li
