Minru Wu

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Minru Wu

Minru Wu

Projects

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LinkAge

LinkAge

LinkAge

Explore cultural Insights into East Asian Anxieties in North America

Explore cultural Insights into East Asian Anxieties in North America

Explore cultural Insights into East Asian Anxieties in North America

My Role:

Data Visualization Design, User Research, Brand Identity, Prototyping, Usability Testing

My Role:

Solo Designer

Data Visualization Design, User Research, Brand Identity, Prototyping, Usability Testing

Year:

Nov 2024 - Dec 2024 (5 week)

Tools:

Figma, FigJam, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Inspired by "East Asian anxiety," this project explores cultural pressures faced by East Asian individuals in North America. Through stories of international students, new immigrants and Canadian-born East Asians, it highlights the lasting impact of cultural norms and family expectations on their lives. The project emphasizes helping parents understand Western values to foster better relationships.

LinkAge addresses this need through thoughtful daily prompts, encouraging conversations between generations. By combining a physical calendar with a digital platform, it helps families build understanding, strengthen connections, and foster mutual growth.

LinkAge addresses this need through thoughtful daily prompts, encouraging conversations between generations. By combining a physical calendar with a digital platform, it helps families build understanding, strengthen connections, and foster mutual growth.

LinkAge addresses this need through thoughtful daily prompts, encouraging conversations between generations. By combining a physical calendar with a digital platform, it helps families build understanding, strengthen connections, and foster mutual growth.

LinkAge addresses this need through thoughtful daily prompts, encouraging conversations between generations. By combining a physical calendar with a digital platform, it helps families build understanding, strengthen connections, and foster mutual growth.

Final design

The outcome of my study has been incredibly rewarding. Many shared how deeply they resonated with my work at the semester showcase and on LinkedIn. Additionally, my project was selected by SFU's Experience Ventures program, offering unique opportunities to further explore and expand my work.

Explore more on LinkAge!

Explore more on LinkAge!

Explore more on LinkAge!

View Prototype

View Prototype

View Prototype

View Prototype

What’s East Asian Anxiety?

Ever feel the pressure to meet certain milestones - like landing a dream job or starting a family - by a specific age?

This feeling is encapsulated by a term often discussed on Chinese social media: "东亚焦虑" (East Asian Anxiety). It describes the unique stress and pressures some East Asians face, rooted in cultural expectations, societal norms, and family obligations. These pressures influence significant areas of life, such as career choices, personal relationships, and family dynamics. Many feel driven to achieve certain milestones - often referred to as the 'social clock' - leading to tension as they attempt to balance personal aspirations with high external expectations.

For East Asians living in North America, these expectations don’t simply fade away. Instead, they evolve into a complex blend of Western societal pressures and deeply ingrained East Asian cultural values, creating a distinct experience of navigating dual cultural demands.

What’s East Asian Anxiety?

Ever feel the pressure to meet certain milestones - like landing a dream job or starting a family - by a specific age?

This feeling is encapsulated by a term often discussed on Chinese social media: "东亚焦虑" (East Asian Anxiety). It describes the unique stress and pressures some East Asians face, rooted in cultural expectations, societal norms, and family obligations. These pressures influence significant areas of life, such as career choices, personal relationships, and family dynamics. Many feel driven to achieve certain milestones - often referred to as the 'social clock' - leading to tension as they attempt to balance personal aspirations with high external expectations.

For East Asians living in North America, these expectations don’t simply fade away. Instead, they evolve into a complex blend of Western societal pressures and deeply ingrained East Asian cultural values, creating a distinct experience of navigating dual cultural demands.

What’s East Asian Anxiety?

Ever feel the pressure to meet certain milestones - like landing a dream job or starting a family - by a specific age?

This feeling is encapsulated by a term often discussed on Chinese social media: "东亚焦虑" (East Asian Anxiety). It describes the unique stress and pressures some East Asians face, rooted in cultural expectations, societal norms, and family obligations. These pressures influence significant areas of life, such as career choices, personal relationships, and family dynamics. Many feel driven to achieve certain milestones - often referred to as the 'social clock' - leading to tension as they attempt to balance personal aspirations with high external expectations.

For East Asians living in North America, these expectations don’t simply fade away. Instead, they evolve into a complex blend of Western societal pressures and deeply ingrained East Asian cultural values, creating a distinct experience of navigating dual cultural demands.

What Are We Anxious About?

During the interviews, participants shared a variety of insights and personal experiences, shedding light on the emotional and psychological effects of cultural expectations and societal pressures.

The top three sources of anxiety commonly mentioned were career choices, age, and marriage.

The Weight of Expectations

I visualized the interview findings using a calendar-inspired design, influenced by vintage Chinese calendars. This represents the passage of time and the weight of cultural expectations while honoring East Asian heritage.

Each milestone marks a life stage, showing when these pressures were felt most strongly. Green pages display phrases participants heard from their parents, tied to cultural expectations. Pink pages reflect the emotions these words evoked. The use of contrasting typefaces highlights the disconnect between expectations and emotions, encouraging empathy and deeper intergenerational understanding.

The Challenge

Many emphasized that, helping their parents understand Western cultural values - like individuality, open communication, and personal happiness - can foster better relationships.

Yet, bridging these cultural gaps comes with its own set of challenges.

How Might We

How Might We

How Might We

How Might We

Foster meaningful conversations to bridge generational and cultural gaps between East Asian parents and their children?

Foster meaningful conversations to bridge generational and cultural gaps between East Asian parents and their children?

Foster meaningful conversations to bridge generational and cultural gaps between East Asian parents and their children?

Solution Approach

Visual Identity

I used a palette of bright, inviting colors and clean, geometric shapes to create a casual and approachable atmosphere, providing a comfortable environment for conversations.

Illustrations corresponding to the daily topics also add a touch of personality and playfulness, enriching the design while supporting the platform’s aim of fostering open and meaningful intergenerational dialogue.

Validating The Design

I used a palette of bright, inviting colors and clean, geometric shapes to create a casual and approachable atmosphere, providing a comfortable environment for conversations.

Major Improvement #1

One key feedback I received was that the current method of sharing with parents - sharing and forwarding perspective cards - was limiting. To improve connection, I added a feature for inviting family members to join discussions directly, along with a reflection tool to track and review interactions over time.

Major Improvement #2

Usability testing also revealed confusion around the CTA buttons. Many users assumed "Compare Your Results" and "See What Others Are Saying" had the same purpose, causing hesitation and inefficiency in navigation.

Design Highlights

The design focuses on fostering meaningful connections between generations by offering intuitive tools for sharing perspectives and engaging in thoughtful discussions. The key features include:

1

1

Interactive Sharing: Simplifies conversations by allowing family members to join easily and share their perspectives through engaging prompts and focused questions.

2

2

Reflection Tools: Tracks conversations over time, enabling users to understand how their relationships and perspectives evolve.

3

3

Insights and AI Assistance: Offers insights into generational perspectives on key topics, using AI to highlight commonalities and bridge understanding.

4

4

Community Perspectives: Enables users to view and engage with others' perspectives, fostering meaningful dialogue and connection.

Explore more on LinkAge!

View Prototype

View Prototype

Reflection & Learning

This is the final project for my first semester in the Information Design and Data Visualization master’s program at Northeastern University. I’m proud to have applied what I’ve learned so far about data visualization while combining it with my existing UI/UX design skills. It also gave me the opportunity to experiment with different ways of visualizing data, including both digital and physical formats. Drawing from my own experiences allowed me to approach the project in a personal and meaningful way, applying design thinking to solve real-life challenges.

If given the chance, I would like to conduct additional rounds of user testing with a broader audience, including individuals across different age groups, to gather diverse feedback and refine the app’s features and usability. Additionally, I aim to focus on enhancing accessibility to ensure the app is inclusive and easy to use for people with varying levels of digital literacy or physical abilities. These steps will help create a more intuitive and universally accessible experience for all users.

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