Taoran Jiang

Hearken

2024

Medium:

Created using Adobe Illustrator and Figma.

Dimension:

100*100 cm

In Hearken, long-distance family life is reimagined as a fractured horizon, where time zones, silence, and emotional drift break the continuity of connection. This UX design poster explores how design might act as a bridge across these invisible rifts.

Drawing on interviews and survey data from international students and their families, Hearken visualizes the emotional toll of fragmented communication and proposes thoughtful digital tools for reconnection. It presents personas, data narratives, and conceptual interfaces created with Adobe Illustrator and Figma.

In response to the Fractured Horizons theme, the work reflects on emotional distances not just as consequences of geography, but as fractures of rhythm, intimacy, and shared memory. Hearken invites viewers to consider how human-centered design can reconnect lives stretched across continents—and offer quiet repair in a splintered world.

About the Artist

Taoran Jiang

As a UX designer with a strong focus on user-centered design, my work often explores the intersections of technology and human relationships. My recent projects, including Hearken, delve into communication challenges faced by international students and their families, blending data-driven insights with empathetic design solutions. By creating meaningful interfaces and visual narratives, I strive to address the emotional aspects of human experiences that are often overlooked in our technology-driven world.

My artistic practice is rooted in the belief that technology, when designed thoughtfully, can enhance human connection rather than diminish it. This philosophy is closely aligned with the theme of On the Critical Point: Wanderlust and Nostalgia in the New Age, where I explore how digital tools can help maintain emotional bonds across physical distances. I aim to question how advancements in communication technologies redefine our notions of identity, memory, and family connections in an increasingly post-human world.

Through my work, I seek to evoke both nostalgia and optimism—showing how technology can not only reshape our present interactions but also preserve the essence of what makes us human in an evolving digital landscape.

About the Artist

Taoran Jiang

As a UX designer with a strong focus on user-centered design, my work often explores the intersections of technology and human relationships. My recent projects, including Hearken, delve into communication challenges faced by international students and their families, blending data-driven insights with empathetic design solutions. By creating meaningful interfaces and visual narratives, I strive to address the emotional aspects of human experiences that are often overlooked in our technology-driven world.

My artistic practice is rooted in the belief that technology, when designed thoughtfully, can enhance human connection rather than diminish it. This philosophy is closely aligned with the theme of On the Critical Point: Wanderlust and Nostalgia in the New Age, where I explore how digital tools can help maintain emotional bonds across physical distances. I aim to question how advancements in communication technologies redefine our notions of identity, memory, and family connections in an increasingly post-human world.

Through my work, I seek to evoke both nostalgia and optimism—showing how technology can not only reshape our present interactions but also preserve the essence of what makes us human in an evolving digital landscape.

About the Artist

Taoran Jiang

As a UX designer with a strong focus on user-centered design, my work often explores the intersections of technology and human relationships. My recent projects, including Hearken, delve into communication challenges faced by international students and their families, blending data-driven insights with empathetic design solutions. By creating meaningful interfaces and visual narratives, I strive to address the emotional aspects of human experiences that are often overlooked in our technology-driven world.

My artistic practice is rooted in the belief that technology, when designed thoughtfully, can enhance human connection rather than diminish it. This philosophy is closely aligned with the theme of On the Critical Point: Wanderlust and Nostalgia in the New Age, where I explore how digital tools can help maintain emotional bonds across physical distances. I aim to question how advancements in communication technologies redefine our notions of identity, memory, and family connections in an increasingly post-human world.

Through my work, I seek to evoke both nostalgia and optimism—showing how technology can not only reshape our present interactions but also preserve the essence of what makes us human in an evolving digital landscape.