Easel was created by Nanwei Cai, Xinyi Ye, Chuoer Liang, Jiaxi Yang, and Chenxi Liu. The AI powered museum app transforms traditional visits with customized tours, immersive AR experiences, and an interactive chatbot that brings each artwork to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q1. Congratulations on winning the MUSE Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chuoer Liang<\/strong>: I\u2019m a UX designer specializing in e-commerce, with a strong focus on optimizing user experiences that drive business growth. I help retailers increase basket size, boost app downloads, and enhance customer loyalty by fostering seamless omnichannel engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through my master\u2019s program in Human-Centered Interaction, I\u2019ve developed deep expertise in designing intuitive, user-friendly experiences that solve real pain points and deliver measurable results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xinyi Ye<\/strong>: I\u2019m Xinyi, a product designer based in Seattle. I\u2019ve always been passionate about creating experiences that resonate with people. I began my career as a filmmaker, crafting stories for the silver screen\u2014an experience that built my foundation in storytelling and human interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, I channel that creative energy into product design. At my current design agency, I work with startups across AI, Web3, and other industries\u2014translating business ideas into user-centered, evidence-based solutions that make a meaningful impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jiaxi Yang<\/strong>: I\u2019m Jiaxi Yang, a NYC-based product designer. I currently lead design for the AI platform and products at Palantir Technologies, where I focus on delivering scalable, reliable LLM-powered solutions that streamline complex enterprise workflows. In a B2B environment, creativity is my catalyst for crafting innovative interaction patterns and pushing the boundaries of what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Palantir, I worked across creative industries\u2014from 3D printing and VR to game development\u2014experiences that enriched my perspective and refined my design thinking. I\u2019ve learned that creativity is not just a skill but a powerful tool for solving real-world problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenxi Liu<\/strong>: I\u2019m Chenxi Liu, a Boston-based designer with a background in design, research, and product management. My work spans EdTech, B2B, financial management, and government sectors, where I focus on simplifying complexity through intuitive, user-centered design. I believe in crafting digital experiences that are seamless, functional, and empowering\u2014driving meaningful impact for users and organizations alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q2. What does being recognized in the MUSE Design Awards mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nanwei Cai<\/strong>: I became a designer because I\u2019m drawn to solving complex problems through creativity and technology. Design offers a unique lens through which I understand and shape the world. It creates a collaborative space, allowing me to learn from engineers, domain experts, and users while aligning diverse perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a tool for untangling complexity, design transforms intricate systems into intuitive and accessible experiences. I find fulfillment in design as it empowers users with technology while driving business and social good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chuoer Liang<\/strong>: I began my career working at an airline in Seattle, where I loved helping passengers from around the world. However, I noticed recurring challenges\u2014passengers struggling with flight transfers, navigating delays, and facing unnecessary frustrations. This sparked my curiosity: how could these experiences be improved at scale to create a smoother journey for travelers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That question led me to UX design, where I discovered the power of designing intuitive, user-centered solutions. To deepen my expertise, I pursued a master\u2019s in UX and Human-Centered Interaction, where I learned how to translate user needs into impactful designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xinyi Ye<\/strong>: I chose to pursue a product design career because I deeply care about people, our community, and society. I care about making people\u2019s lives easier and happier. I believe great design should strike a thoughtful balance between business goals and user experience. Leveraging my creativity and problem-solving skills to create solutions that make a real difference is incredibly fulfilling and motivates me to do my best work every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jiaxi Yang<\/strong>: I\u2019ve always been fascinated by the transformative power of creativity\u2014its ability to bridge diverse fields and solve complex challenges. Early on, I recognized that creative thinking wasn\u2019t merely an artistic pursuit but a fundamental tool for innovation. I was drawn to a career where art, technology, and user-centric design come together to craft meaningful solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q3. How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nanwei Cai<\/strong>: I\u2019m currently a product designer at Palantir Technologies, driving user experience strategy and crafting AI-powered enterprise data tools that simplify complex workflows. I led UX efforts to scale the user base of Palantir\u2019s flagship data engineering system, integrating AI features and contributing to multiple patents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Products I designed have been widely used by leading organizations across industries worldwide. My role bridges advanced technology like AI with user-centered design, ensuring powerful yet intuitive solutions that drive user value and business impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chuoer Liang<\/strong>: I’m currently a Product Designer at Inmar Intelligence, where I lead end-to-end design for e-commerce platforms across web and mobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My work focuses on enhancing user experiences that drive business value\u2014helping retailers increase sales, improve customer retention, and foster long-term brand loyalty. I specialize in optimizing user flows and integrating innovative features to create seamless and efficient shopping experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xinyi Ye<\/strong>: I’m currently a product designer at a design agency called Studio Salt. We help startups across various industries, including AI, Web3, and more, successfully launch their products from 0 to 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My role involves leading end-to-end design processes, from early concept development to final deployment. This includes collaborating closely with clients, conducting research, crafting user-centered designs, prototyping, and testing to ensure intuitive and impactful user experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jiaxi Yang<\/strong>: At Palantir, we\u2019re transforming how organizations harness data to address real-world challenges. As the lead designer for Palantir AIP, our AI platform, I\u2019m at the forefront of creating intuitive, scalable solutions powered by LLMs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My role involves designing innovative interaction patterns and user interfaces that simplify complex enterprise workflows, enabling teams to make data-driven decisions effectively. By blending creative design with advanced technology, I ensure our tools not only meet today\u2019s operational demands but also evolve to empower businesses in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenxi Liu<\/strong>: I\u2019ve worked as both a UX designer and a product manager, combining user research, interaction design, and strategic thinking to create impactful digital solutions. Currently, I work at Time Tec, a software solutions company serving government clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Previously, I designed complex enterprise and educational tools, focusing on making sophisticated systems more intuitive and accessible. My work is guided by a passion for human-centered design and using technology to solve complex challenges in a way that feels simple and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q4. What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nanwei Cai<\/strong>:To me, creativity is the ability to shift perspectives, challenge conventions, and reimagine solutions. It\u2019s about bridging logic with intuition, turning constraints into opportunities, and bringing clarity to complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chuoer Liang<\/strong>: To me, creativity is the ability to connect ideas in new ways, turning constraints into opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xinyi Ye<\/strong>: To me, creativity is more than just generating new ideas. It is about expression and execution, turning ideas into something meaningful and valuable. It is the ability to bring imagination to life in a way that resonates and creates impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jiaxi Yang<\/strong>:Creativity, to me, is about transforming challenges into opportunities through innovative problem solving. Importantly, I believe creativity sparks a chain effect\u2014while I\u2019m just one individual, my design choices have the power to scale, empowering countless others and amplifying impact far beyond what I could achieve alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenxi Liu<\/strong>:I think creativity is about finding unexpected yet effective solutions to complex problems. It\u2019s not just about making things look good\u2014it\u2019s about understanding users, thinking critically, and crafting experiences that feel natural and meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q5. What’s the most unusual source of inspiration you’ve ever drawn from for a project?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nanwei Cai<\/strong>: To me, a creative design is one that approaches a problem with clarity, balance and precision, solving it in a way that feels effortless yet impactful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chuoer Liang<\/strong>: To me, creativity in UX design is about problem-solving in a way that is both innovative and intuitive. It\u2019s about crafting experiences that feel seamless and engaging while balancing user needs and business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xinyi Ye<\/strong>: I believe a creative design is one that brings a unique perspective to solving real-world problems, all while staying rooted in the user’s experience and needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jiaxi Yang<\/strong>: To me, a creative idea or design is one that feels natural and intuitive\u2014as if it has always been that way\u2014even though it\u2019s entirely new. It\u2019s simple and elegant, yet packed with potential. It usually starts by taking a step back, reimagining a long-standing problem from a fresh perspective, and asking: \u201cwhat do users really want?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chenxi Liu<\/strong>: A creative design is one that balances innovation with usability. It challenges assumptions, offers a fresh perspective, and solves problems in a way that feels both intuitive and impactful. True creativity isn\u2019t just<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning Entry <\/p>\n\n\n\nEasel<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n