Interviews with Jiani Zeng

As an industrial designer, engineer and researcher working in the intersection of consumer product design and technology, my work explores new design opportunities beyond the limit of current manufacturing and materials like soft robotics, multi-material 3D printing etc.

My work has been recognized in top international design awards like Red Dot Design Concept, International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), Golden A’ Design Award etc. My design has been featured in the Milan Design Week, CHI, Artsthread, italianbark, LUXOS and IDSA.

I have consulted and designed for multiple companies, including Seymourpowell, Hilti, Furrytail, MIT Design Lab and MIT Media Lab, not only helping them successfully deliver products from initial concept to final product launch but also looking at future design trends and brand strategy.

I have a BEng in Product Design and Manufacture from the University of Nottingham and a Master of Science in Integrated Design and Management (IDM) from MIT.

Now I am a Co-founder and Executive Director of Product Design at Butlr. Technologies and Radical Department Inc., my startup and studio are based in San Francisco.

Let me be very honest...it was about 9 years ago, as a Chinese high school graduate, I have no idea what I was going to do and I didn't know what is industrial design. that time I was really into photography, one day I saw a picture of a camera, Leica M6, the classic one with blue leather skin, I got hooked... it was the last day I had to decide my major, so I went through the list - I choose the one looks like it - product design. It was the best coincident and i feel it's destiny.

Most of my work explores design opportunities in associate with new technology. I like creating new materials from bits and atoms. Like my work "illusory material", my partner Honghao and I invented a computational workflow to create material that cannot be made with any traditional manufacturing method. I believe computation and technology will play a big part in how designer designs.

50% very depressed, I got stuck in the design process easily. And I always look for a perfect design solution.

30% I feel intense. It makes me think fast.

20% I feel relieving and thriving.

My time at MIT. I understand design differently now.

Become the designer to be remembered for centuries.

Design freely and don't get stuck in 'Design thinking'.

I can't say I'm truly successful yet...

emails and design.

Now I read a lot in Technology review and some academic conferences.

A good design should be inspiring, it extends people's imagination.

It is never ready...

Illusory Material. It envisions the future of industrial design with multi-material 3D printing. "Illusory Material" is a computational workflow that allows every designer to play with CMF or even material properties that never existed before in the design process, creating dream-like material and apply them into real-world product design. This project is an envision of future design methodology using computation power with the most advanced 3D printing technology in the world: multi-material voxel printing.

Imagine designing everyday products with "impossible" materials that only exist in the digital world; Imagine a future where designers can manipulate the color, texture, and reflectivity of materials across time and different viewing angles; Imagine the future of color creation is not based on layers of chemical paints, but a combination with optical 3D printed optical lenses and simple color blocks; imagine a physical material can display dynamically by itself without electronic input; imagine an invisible object that is informative, a hard object that feels soft....

Ross Lovegrove and Tokujin Yoshioka.

I have the best partner in the world: Honghao Deng. We combine our knowledge in industrial design and architecture. Finding a good partner is the key factor to get success in design.

Media exposure. Means a lot to us.

With this design, I hope to blur the line between the digital and physical world, bringing "impossible" materials to real-world product design. With the newest fabrication technology and computational power such as multi-material printing, 4D printing, soft robotics, we can embed information into three-dimensional matter (voxel), expanding binary material presence to dynamic material experience in everyday products.

A computational workflow that allows creating optical effect on any free-form surface.

This limited edition is available for sale. Please contact Designer Jiani Zeng at jnzeng7@gmail.com for more information. It will also be exhibited in some design exhibitions and conferences.

3 months research on lenticular printing and voxel printing, 2 weeks on this particular form.

Unream is one of the products designed with "illusory material": a new material organization that responds directly to the user intervention or the environment, creating 'dream-like' physical materials that used to exists only in the digital world. With illusory material, we envision a future where designers can manipulate the color, texture, and reflectivity of materials across time and different viewing angles; Imagine the future of color creation is not based on layers of chemical paints, but a combination with optical 3D printed optical lenses and simple color blocks; imagine a physical material can display dynamically by itself without electronic input; imagine an invisible object that is informative, a hard object that feels soft....Please visit our website for more details: https://www.illusorymaterial.com/

The copyright belongs to Jiani Zeng and Honghao Deng, we will be selling it. However, it needs lots of manual processing and it's limited edition for now.

Our love for new tech and multi-material 3D printing. We are a team of an industrial designer, an architect, and researchers from MIT and Harvard.

Prof. Axel Kilian from MIT architecture, for pointing out and clarifying the research direction that I truly believe in and enjoy doing; for pushing me beyond my comfort field in industrial design, to think big and go deeper in design fundamentally; for all the in-depth, critical and honest feedback - always challenge me to push an idea further.

Prof. Stefanie Mueller from MIT EECS, for all her inspiring work and conversations in HCI, digital fabrications and multi-material printing; for her great trust and freedom she gave me in exploring digital materials; for her openness and encouragement towards any student who has passion in personal fabrication and for being so generous in sharing her knowledge in the field of user interaction design.

Anyone who appreciates design with materials that cannot be seen from traditional production.

There is no similar design in the market so far, we invented the pipeline for "illusory material" to be applied in any 3D form.

Unreal+dream. We are not very good at naming....

Rhino, grasshopper, GrabCAD Print, Stratasys

The material and production - it can not be produced using any other machine other than Stratasys J750.

The design is done by Jiani Zeng and Honghao Deng, supervised by Prof. Axel Kilian and Stefanie Mueller.

This design is about technology: Multi-material 3D printing. We invented a computational workflow that allows every designer to play with CMF or even material properties that never existed before in the design process, creating dream-like material and apply them into real-world product design. This project is an envision of future design methodology using computation power with the most advanced 3D printing technology in the world: multi-material voxel printing.

The research is about 3D printing lenticular effect, more on digital fabrication and computation.

Structural textures are extremely hard to be applied on a free-form model using 3D printing. With our workflow, not only structural textures but also optical textures can be applied on any 3D surface. With Unream, we've developed a computational workflow that can assign different material properties to each voxel in multi-material printing.

We want our design and vision to have an impact on the designer society.

extensive research. keep exploring.

I'm an industrial designer, engineer and researcher working in the intersection of consumer product design and technology. My work explores new design opportunities beyond the limit of current manufacturing and materials like soft robotics, multi-material 3D printing etc.

My work has been recognized in top international design awards like Red Dot Design Concept, International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), Golden A’ Design Award etc. My design has been featured in Milan Design Week, CHI, Artsthread, italianbark, LUXOS, and IDSA.

I has consulted and designed for multiple companies, including Seymourpowell, Hilti, Furrytail, MIT Design Lab and MIT Media Lab, not only helping them successfully deliver products from initial concept to final product launch but also looking at future design trends and brand strategy.

I hold a BEng in Product Design and Manufacture from the University of Nottingham and a Master of Science in Integrated Design and Management (IDM) from MIT.

Currently, I am a Co-founder and Executive Director of Product Design at Butlr. Technologies and Radical Department Inc., my startup and studio is based in San Francisco.

I want to equip every industrial designer the ability to manipulate design from the material creation level and from bits and atoms, instead of being limited by conventional material selection and production. I hope every designer can see "object skin" as separate entities for creation, instead of a uniform material surface that can only be chosen from limited collections. I believe only when those "creators" of products think freely that the general users can experience differently from each product.

Let me be very honest...it was about 9 years ago, as a Chinese high school graduate, I have no idea what i was going to do and I din't know what is industrial design. that time I was really into photography, one day I saw a picture of a camera, Leica M6, the classic one with blue leather skin, I got hooked... it was the last day I had to decide my major, so i went through the list - i choose the one looks like it - product design. It was the best coincident and i feel it's destiny.

I hope to blur the line between the digital and physical world, bringing "impossible" materials to real-world product design. With the newest fabrication technology and computational power such as multi-material printing, 4D printing, soft robotics, we can embed information into three-dimensional matter (voxel), expanding binary material presence to dynamic material experience in everyday products. Imagine a physical material can display dynamically by itself without electronics; Imagine the future of color creation is not based on layers of chemical paints, but a combination with optical 3D printed optical lenses and simple color blocks; imagine an invisible object that is informative, a hard object that feels soft....

I want to change the world by bringing these amazing digital experiences into the physical world we live in.

I'm not a legend. don't be me.

Good design should be inspiring, it shows you what the future will be like, it leads your imagination.

My first step would be introducing my vision and research outcome "illusory material" ([https://www.illusorymaterial.com/](https://www.illusorymaterial.com/)) to the designers' world - I want to equip every industrial designer the ability to manipulate design from the material creation level and from bits and atoms, instead of being limited by conventional material selection and production. I hope every designer can see "object skin" as separate entities for creation, instead of a uniform material surface that can only be chosen from limited collections. I believe only when those "creators" of products think freely that the general users can experience differently from each product.

Secondly, I hope to blur the line between the digital and physical world, bringing "impossible" materials to real-world product design. With the newest fabrication technology and computational power such as multi-material printing, 4D printing, soft robotics, we can embed information into three-dimensional matter (voxel), expanding binary material presence to dynamic material experience in everyday products. Imagine a physical material can display dynamically by itself without electronics; Imagine the future of color creation is not based on layers of chemical paints, but a combination with optical 3D printed optical lenses and simple color blocks; imagine an invisible object that is informative, a hard object that feels soft....

I want to change the world by bringing these amazing digital experiences into the physical world we live in.

A portable multi-material 3D printer.

Imagination.

Ross Lovegrove

Tokujin Yoshioka, simple, smart, material magic.

Illusory material. the vision is valuable to all users.

Musician or photographer.

I've been asked this question for many time, I can't find a good answer. subjectively, design is my life, I don't know what I can do besides design.

My instructors at MIT, Matt Kressy, Axel Kilian, Stefanie Mueller.

My resources at MIT and my partner Honghao Deng.

I have to face my desperation when I'm stuck with a design.

Awards, conferences, media etc.

Illusory material, stay tuned.

become a designer people remember for centuries.

Design leads imaginations, it helps users fulfill imaginations.

illusory material.

more and more designers walk out of the box of traditional manufacture and material. design freely.

physical design will be abt material design instead of using existing material to design.

it depends

design sets the trends

I design with the newest technology.

I'm an Industrial Designer by training and I went to MIT exploring design with the newest technology. More specifically, I want to explore design beyond current manufacturing methods, such as multi-material 3D printing, soft robotics and etc.

My partner Honghao Deng and I started our design studio "Illusory Material" in 2019, research on creating "impossible" materials in a controlled manner, with computation and multi-material voxel printing. We envision a future where designers can manipulate the color, texture, and reflectivity of materials across time and different viewing angles.

Design is about exploring new opportunities beyond the limit of current manufacturing and materials, imagine freely, and create freely.

3D printed objects/artifacts; technology-driven products; AI & IoT product; new material-based product.

My recent project "illusory Material" - exploring "impossible material" with unique material expression using 3D multi-material printing.

A cat litter box. https://www.jianizeng.com/furrytail

Currently, Stratasys J750.

Midnight! And when I'm desperate.

Uniqueness. I want to be a designer who creates a new design domain/methodology.

Desperate then relieving and thriving.

Get ready for the next challenge.

It impacts at least one person, functionally or emotionally.

Bad question. Not gonna answer it

Circular design.

The future of design should not be fixed by design thinking or any fixed guidelines. Design is about user but also about designers themselves, be selfish and design freely.

Milan Design Week. The next one probably Dubai.

Technology review.

I pay attention to new tech/material/digital fabrication.

Now in the USA.

Treat them like a boss...

Not Design thinking bullshit for sure. I don't have one. I create and invent.

Learn to code!

Positive: if you like it, you will love your life. Neg: always desperate.

Be selfish. Your design should have your spirit.

be smart, nothing more

Solidworks and Adobe suite.

I can't manage my time.

It depends.

Can you help me design a logo?

We need to sign an NDA first.

Be the designer of a kind.

With my partner Honghao Deng.

Confidential.

https://www.jianizeng.com/