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

Reiten, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is Polyformer, a machine I developed that turns discarded plastic bottles into usable 3D printer filament.

The idea for Polyformer came from a simple but frustrating realization: in many parts of the world, 3D printing is becoming more accessible—but the filament needed to print is still expensive or hard to find. At the same time, plastic waste, especially PET bottles, is everywhere and rarely recycled properly. I wanted to connect those two problems and turn one into a solution for the other.

What started as a technical challenge quickly turned into something more personal and impactful. When I shared Polyformer online as an open-source project, we saw people building their own versions all over the world—in schools, makerspaces, rural communities. It was amazing to watch a global community form around an idea that was once just a sketch.

What makes this project meaningful to me is that it’s not just about technology—it’s about empowerment. It gives people the ability to create, recycle, and learn. Seeing someone print with filament they made from a plastic bottle, using a machine they built themselves—that’s incredibly rewarding.

Reiten, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an Industrial Design Architect at Meta, where I specialize in crafting experiences that are not just functional, but deeply intuitive and emotionally resonant. At the core of my design philosophy is empathy — I believe great design starts by understanding people, and I’ve spent my career translating that empathy into clever, thoughtful mechanisms that delight users in unexpected ways.

My journey into design began when I was 15, though in many ways, it started even earlier. I fell in love with crafting, woodworking, and engineering as a teenager — not because someone told me to, but because I was driven by a deep curiosity and a love for building things that could make someone’s day just a little better. That passion for creating never left me. Whether I was carving out a toy from scrap wood, designing a hinge that feels like magic to open, or prototyping new interactions for next-generation devices, I’ve always been drawn to that intersection of utility, beauty, and human connection.

Today, I bring that spirit into my work at Meta. I help design products and interactions that sit at the edge of what’s possible — often developing the mechanical and experiential backbone of emerging technologies. Whether it’s a hinge, a haptic detail, or a hidden mechanism, I obsess over the small moments that make a product feel just right. My job is to think ahead, to build prototypes that spark imagination, and to solve for the invisible problems that users never even realize existed.

What sets me apart is that I see engineering and artistry as two sides of the same coin. I’m as comfortable in the shop as I am in front of a CAD screen. I speak both form and function fluently — and I believe neither should ever compromise the other.

I’m most proud of the work that made someone say, “Wait… that’s so clever.” Not because it was flashy or over-engineered, but because it made their life easier in a way that felt natural. That kind of intuitive delight is what I chase in every project.

To anyone discovering my work — whether you’re a client, collaborator, or curious mind — I’d want you to know this: I design with heart, I build with purpose, and I’m here to make things that truly matter. My work lives at the crossroads of empathy and ingenuity, and I’m always excited to meet others who value the same.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the entire process of bringing an idea to life — from that first spark of inspiration to the final refinement that makes it just right. I love when something seemingly random — a shape, a movement, a feeling — triggers a design idea in my mind. I’ll start turning it over, imagining how it could live in the world, how it could be more than just a thought. Once I fall in love with that idea, I feel this pull to materialize it, to give it form and function.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about building a prototype and watching it come together just as I imagined — and often, even better. Every time I make something with my hands or on screen, I start to sense how it could be more beautiful, more intuitive, more alive. That’s when the real joy kicks in — I head back to my shop or my computer, iterate, refine, and push the idea a little further. That loop of imagining, building, sensing, and refining is where I feel most grounded and fulfilled.

It’s not just about making things — it’s about chasing that moment when an idea starts to feel right, when it aligns perfectly with how someone might use or experience it. That quiet, deeply satisfying realization that something I created could bring ease, delight, or even a small smile — that’s what keeps me doing this every day.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I would highly recommend checking out some of the interviews of Steve Jobs when he was younger. He was deeply concerned with building tools and technologies that empowers creatives. His priority in building a company is not to make money, but to build the greatest products possible. If people like what they make, and enough products get sold at a profit, eventually they will make money. It sounds incredible simplistic and childish in thinking but I think we lack this sort of optimism and genuine care for the things we build in today’s world.

Contact Info:

• Website: Https://www.reiten.design/polyformer/process
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reiten966?igsh=MWlnZXpnYmw4cDMxcw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reiten-c-092455169?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@reitencheng4878?si=Ie3Bzlhln0s-PgYU

Image Credits

James Chou for the images of Polyformer (The Red and White machine)

Meta Reality Labs for the Meta RL logo