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

Qingyue, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I’m a UX designer based in Seattle, deeply passionate about data visualization.

My mission for data viz creation is to inspire the next generation of data community to think more creatively and enjoy creating visualizations.

As someone who moved to the USA by myself and has lived in a foreign country for 12 years on my own, data visualization helped me overcome and stand up again from the most challenging period of my personal life. Now, I want to share this positive data viz energy and love with more people.

I have found a way to combine my passions with my work. Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practice have been a great inspiration for both my design work and my personal growth. I am currently collaborating with Chloe Lee, my favorite instructor, to create a physical piece of data-driven art that encourages people to take a minute and appreciate the joyful moments in their day, allowing them to express their feelings.

At the same time, over recent years, I started immersing myself more in contributing to the data visualization community. Last year, I joined the Data Visualization Society’s mentorship program, guiding two mentees to break into the field. This february, I gave a guest lecture and workshop at Pratt Institute to inspire students to think outside the box in visualization. At the same time, one of my articles just published in Nightingale-Issue 4, where I share my creation journey with a broader audience.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, I believe in the power of making data viz more accessible and inspiring more individuals, especially those outside the design field, to start visualizing their personal data and encouraging them to tell their own data story.

Using myself as an example, I have found that happiness and love are the key themes in my projects over the past two years. My aim is to inspire individuals to recognize the small joys in their lives, fostering a sense of positivity, and to encourage them to reflect on what truly brings them happiness, promoting self-awareness.

I used three different approaches to achieve it. For one project I did last year, I used traditional data visualization methods – dashboards, but used them to focus on telling personal, engaging stories and individual reflection rather than traditional business usage like reporting or narrating public stories about society or what’s happening in the world.

The second approach I took is to explore lightweight, data viz-driven app design, which is based on users’ data and guides them to be mindful of the things that bring them joy.

The third approach I took was cross-discipline collaboration. By partnering with my yoga instructor, we are creating a unique and fun art piece that combines our product design and mindfulness principles and expertise.

My approach to data visualization diverges from the traditional definition that focuses on reporting or narrating public stories about society or what’s happening in the world. Instead, my visualizations emphasize personal stories and individual reflection. I aim to offer a contrast by exploring mobile-based data visualization engagement compared to traditional, desktop-based dashboards, which often prioritize more immersive experiences and detailed storytelling.

At the same time, the integration of UX design with data visualization is a topic that has not been widely represented at data and technology world in the past. My works bring a fresh perspective on how user experience design can play a pivotal role in making data visualization more relatable and engaging for a broader audience in their daily lives.

Additionally, people usually think happiness is something difficult to visualize. However, I found that collecting small joyful moments in daily life can help people appreciate their lives. I hope to use design and exploration to inspire more people to apply design methodology to their daily lives, using data visualization, for instance, to recognize their happiness.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing I’ve learned through my career in design and my practice of yoga is that sometimes, the beauty lies in letting go and cherishing the present moment. Instead of trying to control every detail of life and design, I’ve unlearned the need for perfection. Life and design share a natural cycle. There’s a winter season, where we recharge and explore new directions softly. Then comes the blooming spring season, which is all about growth and hard work. The summer season is focused on the final push and achieving milestones. Finally, the fall season arrives, and it’s time for reflection and celebrating what you have accomplished.

Last month, my best friend and I went to see a ballet called “The Seasons’ Cannon”. That was the moment that helped me realize this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://qingyuel.webflow.io/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/qingyue_july/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qingyue-li/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Qingyue_data

Image Credits
Qingyue Li