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Shaping Emotion Without Words – UX with Rochelle Ruixue Liu
July 15, 2025
1Congratulations on winning the London Design Awards! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to pursue design as a career?
Thank you! I'm Sigma, a fashion and product designer deeply fascinated by the intersection of digital technology, emotional resonance, and human intuition. Design became my career because it allows me to visualise and materialise abstract emotions, personal stories, and philosophical thoughts into tangible creations that people can connect with.
2What does being recognised in the London Design Awards mean to you?
This recognition validates my belief in intuitive design. It's incredibly meaningful because it shows me that design rooted in personal emotions and conceptual thinking can resonate universally. It also motivates me to keep exploring the boundaries of creativity and innovation.
3How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?
This award has significantly boosted my confidence and opened new dialogues with brands and collaborators. Although it's early days, I’ve already noticed greater interest in exploring deeper, conceptual design collaborations, especially in merging fashion, 3d print, and digital art.
4What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?
Experimentation is fundamental to my process. "Botanical & Nature" itself is a perfect example—I intuitively combined traditional hand-sketching with modern 3D modelling, without clear references, allowing the piece to evolve organically from a personal emotional core into an internationally recognised design.
5What's the most unusual source of inspiration you've ever drawn from for a project?
A recent project was deeply inspired by the emotional ambiguity of human relationships—the subtle interplay of attraction and detachment I experienced personally. Transforming these intangible feelings into a tangible design was both challenging and rewarding.
6What’s one thing you wish more people understood about the design process?
I wish more people understood the invisible emotional labour behind design. Every piece carries emotional weight, intuition, and deep introspection—it's not merely about aesthetics or functionality, but about genuine human connection.
7How do you navigate the balance between meeting client expectations and staying true to your ideas?
I approach this balance by first deeply understanding the client's core needs and emotions, then finding points of intersection where my creative authenticity can naturally align with their vision. Dialogue, mutual respect, and openness to iteration are essential.
8What were the challenges you faced while working on your award-winning design, and how did you overcome them?
My biggest challenge was conveying deeply personal, abstract feelings into a physical object. I overcame this by trusting my intuition entirely, resisting external references, and allowing the concept to develop from my raw emotional state and hand sketches to a complete digital form.
9How do you recharge your creativity when you hit a creative block?
When facing a creative block, I often detach completely from design. I explore unrelated fields like philosophy, music, or even fitness to regain mental clarity. Often, stepping away helps me rediscover inspiration in unexpected places.
10What personal values or experiences do you infuse into your designs?
I infuse authenticity, vulnerability, and introspection into my work. Personal experiences, especially emotional ones, drive my creative concepts. My designs frequently reflect my journey of self-discovery, resilience, and growth.
11What is an advice that you would you give to aspiring designers aiming for success?
Be unafraid of expressing vulnerability through your designs. Authenticity and emotional honesty create powerful connections and are often the foundation of truly impactful, memorable work.
12If you could collaborate with any designer, past or present, who would it be and why?
I'd love to collaborate with Rei Kawakubo. Her fearless exploration of form, emotion, and conceptual ambiguity deeply inspires me. A collaboration with her would challenge me to think even more radically about the intersection of fashion, identity, and art.
13What's one question you wish people would ask you about your work, and what's your answer?
"What's the emotional story behind your design?"
My answer would be: Each piece I create holds fragments of my emotional landscape—moments of joy, pain, uncertainty, and revelation. Sharing these hidden layers allows people to form deeper connections beyond the visible aesthetics.
Winning Entry
Botanical & Nature | Conceptual Cocktail Menu - 2025 London Design Awards
Botanical & Nature | Conceptual Cocktail Menu is a poetic exploration of emotional storytelling, natural balance, and innovative 3D-printing technology. Inspired by the organic structures and intuitive growth patterns found in nature, this conceptual menu transforms the traditional cocktail... (read more here)
