We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Xianghan Wang, Jing Yao, Rui Xi about their original and creative Application design work. Xianghan Wang, Jing Yao, Rui Xi is an award-winning service designer, that makes our world a better place with their original application works.
Xianghan Wang, Jing Yao, Rui Xi ("XWJYRX") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Livia Application. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
XWJYRX : Livia was inspired by the global mental health crisis—particularly the rising rates of loneliness affecting nearly one in four people worldwide. Our goal was to design a digital companion that feels emotionally intelligent, always available, and truly supportive. We aimed to reduce barriers to mental health care by providing proactive, judgment-free interaction through intuitive AI and immersive technologies.
XWJYRX : Our primary focus was to make AI feel human—emotionally aware, contextually intelligent, and genuinely caring. We wanted users to feel seen, heard, and remembered. We also focused on accessibility, ensuring users could reach Livia anytime, anywhere, through mobile, AR, and wearable integration.
XWJYRX : We plan to continue evolving Livia with deeper personalization features, such as adaptive emotional memory, multi-language support, and integration with wellness ecosystems. We also aim to expand AR capabilities to allow Livia to exist in more physical environments, from personal spaces to public installations.
XWJYRX : The project began in May 2024 in California. It has been an ongoing effort, combining intensive research, prototyping, and user testing over the course of several months.
XWJYRX : Livia was a self-initiated project, born out of a shared passion for emotional design and a desire to address an urgent societal need. It was not commissioned; we created it to respond to a real gap in how digital products support emotional well-being.
XWJYRX : We currently retain production and distribution rights and plan to continue developing Livia as an independent product. We are open to strategic partnerships that align with our values around mental health, accessibility, and user trust.
XWJYRX : As a multidisciplinary team, we each have personal experiences with emotional design, AI, and human-centered interaction. We saw the opportunity to create something meaningful by blending our skills in product strategy, motion design, and machine learning.
XWJYRX : We were inspired by emotionally aware systems in speculative fiction, poetic human-computer interactions in films like Her, and cultural thinkers like Lin Huiyin who combined humanism with structure. These references shaped our pursuit of gentle, empathetic, and culturally conscious technology.
XWJYRX : Our target users are emotionally independent individuals who seek meaningful reflection, emotional clarity, or quiet companionship. Livia is designed for people navigating loneliness, stress, or simply wishing to better understand their inner lives.
XWJYRX : Unlike typical chatbots or journaling apps, Livia combines memory systems, proactive emotional engagement, and AR embodiment. She not only listens, but remembers—offering personalized emotional continuity. Her presence feels alive, not transactional.
XWJYRX : We chose the name Livia because it feels warm, approachable, and quietly intelligent. It evokes life (vita in Latin), and hints at living memory, emotional presence, and quiet strength.
XWJYRX : We used Figma and Notion for wireframing and interaction flow, After Effects and Blender for motion and spatial concept design, and Unity/ARKit for prototyping AR interactions. We also leveraged Chatgpt tools and custom AI memory frameworks for backend logic.
XWJYRX : The emotional memory system. Livia remembers your past interactions—not just data points, but feelings, patterns, and context. This transforms her from a tool into a companion.
XWJYRX : Yes, our core team includes a motion/xr designer, a product designer, and a product-focused engineer. Together, we blended creative, UX, and technical perspectives. We also consulted with mental health professionals during early research phases.
XWJYRX : Technology is the enabler of empathy here. From NLP and emotion recognition to AR spatial mapping and wearable integration, technology helps Livia feel emotionally aware and physically present in users’ lives.
XWJYRX : Yes. We conducted surveys, interviews, and usability studies with participants of different ages and emotional needs. This helped us understand how users engage with digital companions, what feels supportive, and where typical systems fall short.
XWJYRX : The hardest part was designing emotional nuance—ensuring that Livia felt supportive without being intrusive. Technically, we faced challenges with memory continuity, multi-device syncing, and ensuring privacy. Balancing advanced features with an intuitive user experience required continuous iteration.
XWJYRX : We believe that emotional design deserves more visibility, and that technology can serve mental well-being in elegant, culturally sensitive ways. Submitting to A' Design Award was a way to share that mission with a global audience and learn from the design community.
XWJYRX : We learned to slow down and listen—not just to user needs, but to emotional signals. This project deepened our understanding of ethical AI, memory systems, and emotional UX. We also grew as collaborators, learning how to design from empathy, not ego.
XWJYRX : Livia is more than an app—she’s a design statement about what we want AI to be: present, respectful, emotionally literate. We hope Livia sets a precedent for future products that prioritize the inner lives of users as much as their external tasks.
