Meet Hanzhang Cao

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

Hanzhang, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Even twenty years from now, I still vividly remember being recognized as a kid who always doodled on sheets of paper before I could properly hold a pen. Thanks to my parents, they noticed my interest and sent me to art classes since elementary school, helping me to establish an amateur connection with drawing for self-expression. Since then, I have always been fascinated by the idea of creation. As an elementary school kid, being able to translate my imagination using pen and paper was my initial fantasy for industrial design even before knowing what the subject is about. All I did know was my deep interest in tech products and cars, and those two subjects filled up the majority of my sketchbook. In high school, I found out about the subject of industrial design. That moment felt like puzzles falling into places. I felt destined to pursue this path. Thus, I decided to go to Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to study the subject matter. My undergraduate study at RISD laid me a solid foundation in mechanical skills in design for me to contextualize my ideas. The skillset I obtained enables me to translate my sketches to tangible objects that have real functionalities. My childhood fascination for creating became concrete. With these skillset obtained, I was able to grasp on opportunities to work on projects ranging from healthcare products to consumer electronics. Having been working in the tech industry, I am becoming more and more determined and grateful for pursuing the path of design. This is because I believe that technology is the driving force that propels humanity and design is a medium to deploy technology to the public.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Currently, I am completing my graduate school at Northwestern University in the MS: Engineering Design Innovation Program. I am working on my thesis project analyzing the disruptiveness of smartphones and reinventing smartphone interactions for this piece of technology to be immersive and purpose – oriented.

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 three qualities that propelled me to where I am today is passion, determination, and discipline. To me, I see myself as a determined designer working on subject matters that I am unapologetically passionate about. Having a clear goal or passion of what you want to achieve is critical to personal improvements. You have to know where you are moving towards to and where you are within the process to be able to realize your goal. In order to make concrete improvements on your journey of realizing your goal, being disciplined is important. I always believe that there are no shortcuts, making incremental steps will not only help you to realize your goals, but allowing you to realize it in a concrete way, and that requires self-discipline.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking for collaborating with creatives who are passionate about design and technologies, who view this world through critical lenses, who constantly thinks about the possibilities and impacts that we can bring to the world through these two mediums.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://crscao.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanzhang-cao-16367522a

Image Credits

Photo 2 – In collaboration with Junyi Yan