Meet Baoqi Ding

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Baoqi Ding a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Baoqi , thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

The secret is to be brave to step outside my comfort zone. Creativity is the capacity to grab an idea or a problem from several angles and link unconnected dots to discover feasible solutions. It’s about envisioning what could be. Step one is to find a safe space and prepare yourself with a mindset. Those will help designers feel comfortable taking risks and even failures. Then, it is time to challenge limits, discover beauty, and apply it to real scenarios. It’s more than simply trying something different; it’s about offering a unique viewpoint or method that improves an experience and solves a problem.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Having started with an academic background in accessory design, my path as a product designer has been linear. As my thesis project, I created an interactive wearable installation since I became fascinated with how design might interact with human emotions during my college studies. This encounter changed my emphasis from accessory design, where we mostly do self-expression, to user experience design, which I investigated further throughout my master’s degree.

Since then, I have become deeply involved in several domains, working on projects ranging from creating a platform to encourage a healthier lifestyle to creating an AI writing tool for students. Making goods that empower people and inspire good change is central to my design philosophy. Great design, in my opinion, not only fixes issues but also enhances life by focusing on empathy, accessibility, and creativity.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The top three are open-minded, curious, and empathetic, reflected in all my projects. As a UX designer, I want to create experiences with a collaborative mindset. In a project called Black Box, I invited strangers to experience the Black Box machine to better understand the value of personal data in a social experiment. This project aimed to provoke thought and discussion around data privacy and the often-overlooked implications of data collection in our digital age. The explorative and open-minded creative approach gave me insights I could not learn anywhere else. The second quality is curious. I want to be interested in diving into different areas and finding new solutions. I wake up daily for new challenges, which motivate me in my design journey. The last one is empathy. During a previous project where I brainstormed ideas with those experiencing homelessness, I learned that most users own a phone, which helped me land on designing a mobile app. Designers must be aware of biases and get users involved in the design process to create with them instead of designing for them.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I am working on a project called Journie. This is a travel platform designed for solo female travelers to safely and confidently take their adventure. I am facing a challenge where notification seems not enough to provide users with on-time guidance. I did some research on how different devices boost the user experience, and I decided to utilize the mobile widget and Apple watch surface to resolve this challenge.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.baoqiding.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designplayground_/?hl=en