Lei Ye is a senior product designer at McKinsey & Company and holds a master\u2019s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design. His time at Harvard was transformative, allowing him to explore the intersection of design, technology, and strategy. This education has been foundational in his approach to tackling complex design challenges, enabling him to create innovative and impactful solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q1. Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your background.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After spending more than two and a half decades in the technology industry, working in organizations of all sizes from startups to multinational corporations, I always carry two core values with me: people’s happiness and business outcomes. The teams I have worked with and managed deliver high-quality results and have fun doing it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a multi-award-winning marketing and communications professional, I have had the honor of working at the forefront of technological breakthroughs and innovation in various industry verticals and channels spanning enterprise, B2B, B2C, sales, consulting, and retail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diverse perspectives are important to me and have led me to live and work in dozens of countries on four different continents. But no matter where I am or where I work, my work-life motto is, “Don’t not do the right thing because it’s hard<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q2. What made you become\/why did you choose to become a digital designer\/artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n At its core, marketing uses a powerful tool \u2013 storytelling. But what invigorates me is the use of storytelling to achieve business outcomes. This is what I like to call strategic storytelling. There are many ways to do digital storytelling, and it’s the endless amount of creativity and possibilities that make me passionate about being a digital storyteller the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q3. Tell us more about your business\/company, job profile, and what you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanctuary AI is on a mission to create the world’s first general-purpose human-like intelligence robots that will help make work safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. The world is experiencing declining birth rates and labor shortages. In the United States alone, there are 9.9 million job openings, but only 5.8 million unemployed workers. These shortages pose a real threat to the way we live, and Sanctuary AI’s technology offers a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Powered by our pioneering AI control system Carbon\u2122, Sanctuary AI\u2019s Phoenix\u2122 general-purpose robots can perform tasks in the same way people can. Unlike special-purpose robots, Sanctuary AI technology can drop into any environment and start working. Carbon and Phoenix mark the beginning of a new era of work and prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Sanctuary AI’s Chief Marketing Officer and member of the executive leadership team, I am responsible for leading the company’s marketing and communications initiatives across all owned, earned, and paid channels. My responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of the planning, development, and execution of activities across advertising, public relations, industry analyst relations, web, mobile, and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q4. What\u2019s your favorite kind of digital design and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Above all, I value honesty in any marketing and communications project, collateral, or asset. Through my years of experience leading and pioneering the creation of several profoundly new technology product categories, I’ve learned that trust is gained in drops, but lost in buckets. New and emerging industries can fall into the trap of overhype and being unable to deliver or meet expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any digital design that is compelling and remains true to its marketing is one that I would consider a great design. You can learn more about how our work at Sanctuary AI upholds this gold standard throughout our communications efforts: https:\/\/sanctuary.ai\/resources\/news\/honesty-in-technology-communications-marketing-and-storytelling\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q5. To you, what makes a \u201cgood\u201d design?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trust, I’ve learned, isn’t built overnight. It’s earned in tiny, hard-won droplets, but lost in gushing buckets. My experience pioneering new technology categories has shown me that overhyping and under-delivering is a quick way for emerging industries to lose credibility. That’s why I champion honesty in every marketing project, collateral, and asset. For me, a truly great digital design combines compelling creativity with unwavering truthfulness to the marketing message. And if you want to see what that looks like in action, check out how we do it at Sanctuary AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q6. Describe your design style and its main characteristics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Honesty isn’t just a nice-to-have in communications for me; it’s the bedrock. From launching groundbreaking tech products to navigating new industries, I’ve witnessed trust evaporate with a single misstep. Hype can get you so far, but delivery is the ultimate currency. That’s why I judge design excellence based on whether it captivates while staying faithful to its promises. At Sanctuary AI, we’ve woven this principle into every thread of our communications, and you can see it shining through in our work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In personal projects, where compromises are not necessary, I let my inner artist and inner child run free! It’s a space for maximum playfulness and experimentation with different techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning Entry<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The video was designed to unveil and amplify the launch of Sanctuary AI\u2019s sixth-generation general-purpose robot, Phoenix\u2122, and its accompanying …
(read more at Vega Digital Awards<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n