Peixuan Yu (Lily) is an Interactive News Developer at The Dallas Morning News, blending computer science and media arts to create immersive storytelling. She crafts interactive experiences that inform, engage, and empower audiences across platforms.<\/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 My name is Peixuan Yu (Lily), and I\u2019m currently working as an Interactive News Developer at The Dallas Morning News. With a background in computer science and media arts, I work at the intersection of design, technology, and storytelling\u2014bridging these domains as a visual storyteller, experience designer, and creative developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hold a Master\u2019s degree from NYU\u2019s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at Tisch School of the Arts and a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Science and Interactive Media Arts from NYU Shanghai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My journey into the industry began with a deep curiosity about how emerging technologies could be used to tell stories that resonate. During my time at NYU, courses like Visual Journalism, taught by Yuliya Parshina-Kottas (then a Graphics Editor at The New York Times), and Designing for Impact, taught by Matt Parker at NYU Game Center, deepened my understanding of how design and technology can shape powerful narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, I\u2019ve been committed to crafting interactive storytelling experiences that inform, move, and empower audiences across platforms.<\/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 Professionally, receiving this award enhances my international visibility and validates the originality of my work within a highly competitive industry. Personally, it affirms my continued commitment to designing impactful, story-driven experiences that live at the intersection of design, technology, and narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q3. Can you share the story behind your success? What inspired its creation, and what do you feel it represents in today\u2019s industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Doomsday Glacier\u201d began as an exhibition piece for NYU\u2019s This Is Not A Drill open call showcase, hosted by the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library in 2023. I wanted to explore how interactive storytelling could communicate complex climate science to broader audiences in a compelling, emotionally resonant way. Inspired by a need to make scientific data more accessible, I expanded the original piece into a rich, web-based narrative experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTranscending Boundaries\u201d was developed in collaboration with the United Nations, and centers around an interactive 3D globe experience that visualizes the UN\u2019s global initiatives and organizational efforts across sectors such as child welfare, gender equality, and refugee support. Designed to be both informative and immersive, the piece demystifies the UN\u2019s work through an intuitive interface that encourages exploration and global awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today\u2019s fragmented media landscape, where audiences are often overwhelmed by information or disengaged due to complexity, both projects demonstrate how interactive storytelling can bridge gaps in understanding. They reflect a growing shift in journalism and communication toward experiential media that is accessible, visually compelling, and deeply connected to urgent global issues.<\/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 The strength of \u201cThe Doomsday Glacier\u201d lies in its minimalist yet powerful interactivity and its ability to distill complex scientific concepts into emotionally engaging, visually immersive experiences. Rather than overwhelming users with text or controls, I employed simple interactions like scrolling, hovering, and dragging to trigger dynamic visual responses such as 3D animations, animated timelines, and responsive data visualizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This streamlined yet sophisticated design not only makes the subject matter more approachable but also invites deeper user engagement with the narrative. It\u2019s this synergy between form and function that sets the work apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTranscending Boundaries\u201d stands out for its innovative use of interactive 3D mapping to visualize the expansive global work of the United Nations. By enabling users to rotate, explore, and tap on different regions of a digital globe, the project transforms abstract institutional information into a tangible, navigable experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The design emphasizes clarity and global connectivity, allowing users to intuitively explore how various UN initiatives intersect with key global issues. Its effectiveness lies in transforming a vast organizational structure into an engaging and educational tool for audiences worldwide.<\/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 For \u201cThe Doomsday Glacier,\u201d a key challenge was synthesizing dense scientific research into a cohesive, digestible narrative. I gathered a wide array of academic papers, climate datasets, and satellite analyses, but determining how to weave these disparate pieces into an effective storyline required careful editorial judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To address this, I developed a research framework, mapping key insights chronologically and drafting visual storyboards to identify points of visual emphasis. This structured process allowed me to transform complex data into a narrative arc that was both informative and engaging for general audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest challenges in developing \u201cTranscending Boundaries\u201d was designing a user experience that could clearly communicate the scale and diversity of the United Nations\u2019 global initiatives without overwhelming users. The UN\u2019s structure is vast and multilayered, so distilling this into an intuitive interface required extensive content mapping and UX iteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tackled this by prototyping multiple globe interaction models, user-testing early versions, and working closely with collaborators to refine both visual clarity and narrative flow. Through this iterative approach, I designed an interface that feels both expansive and navigable, helping users grasp the UN\u2019s global impact in a meaningful and accessible way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning Entry <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MUSE Creative Awards\u2019 emphasis on innovation and storytelling strongly aligns with the core of my practice. Submitting my work was a way to engage with a global creative community and receive recognition among peers who are also pushing boundaries in digital media and communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Doomsday Glacier<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n