PRODUCT DESIGN · AI SENSOR SYSTEM
PureMetric
A connected beverage container that turns sensor change into status, trends, and an AI freshness estimate.
sys.ready
INTERACTION / AI / PRODUCT
Runqi Zou
I like playing with media and technologies, making work about how people connect with the world around them.
hey there!
I’m a designer.
I specialize in interaction and product design, with strong prototyping and execution skills. I bring my work to life by building wearables, smart products, and installations. I like pushing boundaries and letting research change the design.
Studied at NYU ITP, Harvard, and the MIT Media Lab.
Figma
TouchDesigner
Unity
Arduino
Python
React
Adobe Creative Cloud
Procreate
JavaScript
GitHub
Interaction Design
User Research
Rapid Prototyping
Experiment Design
Usability Testing
Techs I like working with
I use code, sensors, and emerging technologies as materials for designing digital, physical, and intelligent experiences.
stack.loop
Selected works
Design work on one side, playground toys on the other. Flip the switch.
WEB3 PRODUCT · AI RISK UX
ZKP Dynamics
A privacy-preserving asset verification platform where clients generate zero-knowledge proofs and auditors review verification and AI-assisted transaction risk results.
INTERACTION DESIGN · AUTONOMOUS OBJECT
Floating Umbrella
A hands-free umbrella prototype that follows from a safer position without asking the user to steer.
WEARABLE · DIGITAL OLFACTION
Scentverse
A wearable olfactory device for capturing and sharing scent across distance.
EXPERIENCE DESIGN · INSTALLATION
Sound of Body
A biometric installation that turns heart signals into live music and projected visuals.
Playground · Camera
Air Chimes
Bend a finger in front of the camera to ring chimes and tap drums.
Playground · Arrows
Tetris
Stack the blocks, clear the lines.
Playground · Mic
Sound Bloom
A bloom that breathes with your voice.
Playground · Tap
Still Water
Tap the surface, petals drift and ripples spread.
Playground · Watch
Cascade
A stream of particles falling through a shifting field.
Playground · Watch
Whisper
A grid that flickers quietly with noise.
On the record
Awards, papers, and other things people noticed.
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2026
Paper at IEEE Conference on Games
LURK Werewolf separates what an AI agent says from how it says it. In seven-player games, moving from structured logic to natural language changed 52.6% of later decisions. Co-first author, oral presentation.
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2026
Paper in IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems
Aligned Information Bottleneck, a model for multimodal sentiment analysis across text, audio, and video. First author.
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2025
A’ Design Award, winner
Sound of Body, an installation that plays heart signals as music and visuals.
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2025
International Design Awards, honorable mention
PureMetric, product design in the smart home category.
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2024
Muse Design Awards, silver
Scentverse, a wearable device for sharing scent.
