We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Yuzhou(Joe) Wu about their original and creative Digital Park Experience design work. Yuzhou(Joe) Wu is an award-winning communication designer, that makes our world a better place with their original digital park experience works.
Yuzhou(Joe) Wu ("YW") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Timeless Grove Digital Park Experience. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
YW : The core principle behind Timeless Grove is to explore how digital interaction can redefine the way people experience public space. The inspiration came from the contrast between the site’s industrial past and its potential for sustainable, community-centered renewal. By integrating intelligent navigation, gamified carbon tracking, and augmented reality storytelling, the project aims to transform an abandoned factory site into a participatory, emotionally resonant space that connects people to both history and nature.
YW : The main focus was to create an experience that blends spatial renewal with meaningful user interaction. We wanted to move beyond traditional urban park design and instead design a system that encourages users to actively participate—both physically and emotionally—in the site. Through task-based navigation, carbon point incentives, and AR storytelling, we aimed to promote sustainability, cultural awareness, and inclusive engagement within a historically layered space.
YW : Timeless Grove was developed as a conceptual framework, but we see strong potential for its real-world application. In the future, we hope to collaborate with local governments, urban renewal initiatives, or cultural institutions to adapt the system to other industrial heritage sites or community parks. The modular nature of the app and interaction system allows it to be scaled, localized, and customized, making it an adaptable model for future smart public spaces.
YW : The design process took approximately seven months from initial research to final presentation. This included site history analysis, user behavior studies, interaction flow design, interface development, and the integration of AR and gamification elements. As a multidisciplinary project, it required iterative exploration across both spatial planning and digital user experience to ensure coherence and feasibility.
YW : This project was self-initiated and driven by a desire to explore the intersection of industrial heritage, sustainable behavior, and interactive technology. The site’s layered history, combined with current environmental and social challenges in urban spaces, sparked the idea of reactivating the location through a participatory digital experience. It was less about solving a predefined problem and more about envisioning how design could reconnect people with space, history, and sustainability.
YW : As of now, Timeless Grove remains a conceptual project. However, we are actively exploring opportunities for collaboration with local governments, cultural parks, and public space developers. We are open to licensing the system or co-developing it in real-world applications. Our intention is not just to keep it as a concept, but to make it adaptable and implementable in future industrial site renewals or smart public space initiatives.
YW : We were deeply interested in how public spaces—especially those with historical layers—can be reimagined through digital experience design. Rather than viewing space as static, we wanted to treat it as a dynamic interface between people, history, and the environment. This type of work allowed us to combine storytelling, behavior design, and spatial thinking into one cohesive system that engages users on multiple levels.
YW : While the concept was original, we were inspired by precedents in public experience design and interactive urban installations. Projects like Superkilen in Copenhagen and the High Line in New York demonstrated how layered storytelling and community engagement can coexist in public space. From a UX standpoint, we also drew references from environmental gamification strategies and museum-based AR experiences.
YW : Our primary target users are residents and visitors of all ages who interact with public spaces, especially in urban areas undergoing transformation. We paid particular attention to inclusivity by designing for families, seniors, and young adults, ensuring the system is intuitive, accessible, and engaging across age groups and technical backgrounds.
YW : Timeless Grove stands out by integrating spatial renewal, behavioral incentives, and cultural storytelling into one seamless digital-physical experience. Unlike typical AR heritage apps or park navigation tools, our design transforms everyday movement into measurable, rewarding actions and weaves history into real-time decisions. It’s not just a tool—it’s an ecosystem of interaction.
YW : The name “Timeless Grove” reflects the fusion of two key themes: time and nature. “Timeless” refers to the layered industrial heritage and historical memory of the site, while “Grove” signifies ecological renewal and organic community growth. Together, they express the concept of a park that transcends time through digital storytelling and environmental participation.
YW : We used a combination of tools across design and prototyping. Figma was used for interface design and user flow mapping, while Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop supported visual elements and iconography. For augmented reality simulation, Unity and Vuforia were used to build interactive prototypes. Spatial layout and scenario renderings were developed in Rhino and Twinmotion.
YW : The most unique aspect is how the system transforms everyday park activities into emotionally and environmentally meaningful interactions. Through real-time AR storytelling, behavior-based carbon tracking, and personalized navigation, the project blends digital presence with physical space in a way that makes users feel part of an evolving historical and ecological narrative.
YW : Yes, this was a multidisciplinary collaboration. I worked with a UX designer specializing in interface and user flow, as well as a landscape designer who contributed to the spatial layout and integration of interactive zones. Their technical input was essential for balancing digital logic with physical feasibility.
YW : Technology is not only a medium but a narrative tool in this project. Augmented reality, real-time data sensing, and mobile interaction form the core infrastructure that enables the storytelling, user engagement, and sustainable behavior tracking. It connects users to the site through dynamic, layered feedback rather than static information.
YW : Yes, the design was grounded in both site-specific and user-centered research. We conducted environmental analysis of the site, studied its historical transitions, and carried out user interviews and surveys to understand behavior patterns in public spaces. The system architecture and task design were shaped by these data points to ensure relevance and engagement.
YW : One major challenge was finding a balance between digital complexity and user friendliness. Designing a system that incorporates AR, gamification, and spatial storytelling without overwhelming users required careful flow mapping and modular simplification. Another challenge was ensuring that digital interactions remained intuitive for all age groups, including seniors and children.
YW : We believed that the project’s approach to combining historical memory, digital interaction, and sustainable behavior was relevant to global design conversations. Submitting to an international competition was a way to test the universality and innovation of the concept, and to gain constructive feedback from a broader design community.
YW : This project taught me how to design across systems—linking space, behavior, and technology into one user-centered experience. I also deepened my skills in translating abstract research into actionable interface and task design. Most importantly, I learned how to let empathy guide innovation, especially when designing for public and intergenerational use.
YW : Only that this project reaffirmed our belief that design is not just about solving problems but also about creating meaningful relationships—between people and space, past and future, technology and emotion. We hope Timeless Grove inspires more cross-disciplinary collaboration in shaping interactive public environments.
