ILSALI
S.O.F.T. Interface

ABOUT

Yumeng Li is a designer, fiber artist, HMI researcher and founder who innovates on interactive tangible by daily self-questioning “Why not make it softer so that the product is in line with humanity-centered design and neo interface experience?”

ILSALI

ILSA YUMENG LI (zh: 李雨萌) is a designer, HMI researcher, and founder who innovates on interactive tangibles by daily questioning “Why not make it S.O.F.T.er to celebrate humanity-centered design and neo-interface experience?”

As a designer, 

ILSA has procured interviews with prestigious platforms such as NEW YORK WEEKLY, 科技中华网 (China.com), SOHU…

ILSA’s work has been awarded iF Design Award, IDA Award Gold, European Product Design Award Top Designs, Design Intelligence Award, ixda awards, Creative Communication Award and featured by design publications including Yanko Design, Tuvie Design, Puxiang, DesignLab, TrendHunter, 3D Natives.

As an entrepreneur, 

Recently, ILSA works as the art & tech director of PEAR & MULBERRY ：

● Project We|aver+ has been funded and selected as the candidate for Zhejiang Province’s government incubation project

● Project CofFeed has raised interest from Starbucks, and is envisioned for future App deployment

As an innovator, 

She has begun her research journey since 16 years old as a high school student to conduct the Research on Effect of Urban Rainfall Runoff Pollution on Water Environment and Amount Accounting, published her first research article on environmental chemistry and regression analysis on biological and environmental indicators as a result, which has been awarded:

● National Runner-Up Winner, 25th China Adolescents Science & Technology Innovation Contest, China

by National Education Department & China Association For Science and Technology, 08/2010

● Intel ISEF 2011 Grand Awards in Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Society for Science & the Public, Intel Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 05/2011

Interactive Tangible Development for B2B Design Service:

Set up and innovate the interface evaluating standards for interactive tangible products: S.O.F.T. System by incorporating Decentralized Technology Integration, Elastic Thinking Design, and Anti-fragile Market Analysis cross dimensions to ensure smart products in the tangible goods market not only provide a friendly and natural interaction with users but also maintain competitive in nowadays market landscape.

When worked at SAIC Motor in R&D Department:

Research and Analysis: Managed data collection and analysis to research and contribute to essay: “The relationship between car marketing and GDP in China's 2nd to 3rd tier cities”;

Collaborative Initiatives: Acted as a super collaborator with the Purchasing Department to establish a goods purchasing level standard system of supply chain management for R&D Department alignment. (with Juncheng Li, Yun Feng)

At Weltmeister Motor, as an HMI Researcher:

Optimized infotainment system in luxury car interior design: [HMI layout] & [HMI accessibility of Cadillac CT6, MB S class, Tesla Model S] by eye-tracking systems and user behavior data analyzing;

User diagnosis through eye tracking, collective experimental, and data analysis.

At Continental Tires (China) Co., Ltd, as Sales Manager:

Data Specialist: Established monthly sell-out forecasting strategies for southern regional RS managers;

Supervision and Evaluation: Supervised and evaluated RS Managers on sales conditions;

Competitor Analysis: Conducted in-depth competitor analysis on pricing/ strategy/ advertising.

Hobbies:  

🧶 Fiber art: In collaboration with SapiSelco made in italy as a professional artist member of ArtisTIE committee

📚 Art book:

「HUI House.徽居」 In collaboration with Anhui Province , will coming soon be exhibited at Bengbu Museum and Dadi Art Museum.

「The Ballet of the East in the Silhouette of Time: Flower Drum Lantern」In collaboration with Anhui Province‘s Local History Research Laboratory and 3rd inheritor of Huagudeng.

 

Selected Awards & Honors

Hui House: Unveiling Endangered Legacy

  • IDA Gold in Print / Books, International Design Awards (IDA), 2023

  • LICC Official Selection (Final round in process) in Illustrate (graphic), London International Creative Competition (LICC), 2023

Crystallization: The De(En)coding Art Journey

 

We|aver+: Children Therapeutic Footcare

CofFeed™️: Assistance Service for Resource Repurposing

Manifesto.AR: Augmented Reality Embedded Accessories

Breeza™️: Breast Health Assistance Solution

Urban Artery: Upcycling Accessory

Meta.Zen™️: Tactile Meditation Playset For Adults

 MooiMist™️: Diffuser for Olfactory Therapy

United 1/12: Cultural Innovation

  • iF DESIGN AWARD 2022 Finalist, Communication, Campaigns / Advertising

  • IDA Bronze in Print / Print Advertising, International Design Awards (IDA), 2022

Bio-cutlery System

  • LDA Shortlist Winner, Lexus Design Award (LDA), New York, NY, USA, 01/2019

CogniDiet™️: Cognitive Assistance in Preventing Food Allergies

Research on Effect of Urban Rainfall Runoff Pollution on Water Environment and Amount Accounting

  • Intel ISEF 2011 Grand Awards, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2011, Society for Science & the Public, Intel Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 05/2011

Yixin Zhang, 17, Yumeng Li, 16, Anqi Wang, 17, No. 2 High School, Bengbu, Anhui, China

  • National Runner-Up Winner, 25th China Adolescents Science & Technology Innovation Contest, China Education Department & China Association For Science and Technology, 08/2010

Education

Master in Design Engineering, GSD & SEAS, Harvard University 08/2023 -

Bachelor of Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 09/2012 - 06/2017 

  • Automotive Engineering: Color, Material & Finish

  • Automotive Marketing & Logistic Management

Press & Publication

 

Exhibition

“徽”聚一堂｜Hui House: Unveiling Endangered Legacy, Bengbu Museum, National First( Top) -tier Museum 03/2024

EXPOSURE, Mixed Reality Installation, Myrtle Hall, Brooklyn, NY, USA 01/2020

Media: Augmented Reality, TPU, Sodium acetate (C2H3NaO2), Metallic tulle, Organza, Wood

CRYSTALLIZATION, Flag book and Accordion book, Art Book Event,  Pratt Institute Libraries, Brooklyn, NY, USA 11/2019 - 01/2020

Media: Acetate, Sunset-velvet rag, Fine-art-photo rag, Resin

VHELP: Voice-Haptic Interface for Visually Impaired People, Assistive Technology Hackathon Project, MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA, USA 04/2019 - 09/2019

Designed Tactile interaction for a We-help volunteer system with “soft” textile wearable interfaces; Devised phone case with touch sensor programming & E-textile fabrication for vision-impaired people

Media: Piezoelectric sensor, Conductive thread, Punch needling, C# Web application development, Haptic controller

MARINE EVOLUTION: Algorithm Skeleton, Spatial Installation, The New School, New York, NY, USA 12/2018 

Media: Plastic Ties

VEIN / ARTERY, Pneumatic Wearables, DIGITAL FUTURES SHANGHAI 2018-Cyborg Futures, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University, Shanghai, China 07/2018 

The project explored how the material acts as an interface between the human body and the surrounding environment by combining the design of garment with the pneumatic system to make the bionic functions can be augmented, enhanced and expanded.   Document  |   Technology

Media: Pneuduino platform, Heart pulse sensor, Grasshopper, Tracing paper, Teflon film, Tube connections