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Chen, Zeya

Bio

Zeya Chen is an award-winning researcher and designer. Her research focuses on the aesthetics and politics of socio-technical systems and infrastructure at the intersection between emerging technologies, ethical practices, and public health; specifically, she uses behavioral design approaches and system thinking to nudge digital ethics into practical data-driven healthcare services. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Institute of Technology; and a Research Assistant at D-Lab of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, responsible for the project, Whole Life: Designing Life After Covid-19, founded by the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Zeya holds a Master of Design (M.Des) degree from the IIT Institute of Design, and a Bachelor of Art (B.A.) degree in Industrial Design from Wuhan University in China. She specializes in leveraging design methods and tools to develop strategic services and systematic solutions in multidisciplinary teams. Her work has been honored by iF, RedDot, Core77, Fast Company, and ACM-UIST for Notable Social Impact, World Changing Idea, Notable Health/Wellness Design, etc.

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Selected Awards / Honors

  • iF Design Award, iF-User Experience track                                                                                                                   2026

  • Red Dot Award, Communication & Brand Design                                                                                                        2025

  • Gold Winner, Muse Design Award                                                                                                                                   2025

  • Gold Winner, Muse Creative Award                                                                                                                                2025

  • iF Design Award, iF-User Experience track                                                                                                                   2025

  • Notable Health/Wellness Design Award, Core77                                                                                                          2023

  • Student Innovation Jury Award, Runner-up, ACM-UIST Conference’22                                                                2022

  • World Changing Ideas Award 2022, Honorable Mentions, Fast Company                                                            2022

  • Notable Social Impact Award & Notable Service Design Award, Core77                                                                 2022

  • Notable Health/Wellness Design Award, Core77                                                                                                          2022

  • Best Student Design of 2022, Honorable Mentions, Fast Company                                                                        2022

  • Master Challenges Competition’21, Winner, IIT Institute of Design & Harvard D-Lab                                      2021

  • Master Challenges Competition’20, Winner, IIT Institute of Design & Verizon                                                    2020

  • iF Design Award 2020, Package Design Award, iF Design                                                                                         2020

  • Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship, Chinese Ministry of Education                                                 2019

  • Global Green Efficiency Innovation Challenge Competition, Finalist Award, Schneider Electric SA                2018

  • Advertisement Creative Competition for College Students, 3rd Prize, Hubei Education Bureau                      2018

  • Excellent Student Scholarship, 3rd Prize, Wuhan University                                                                                    2018

  • Excellent Overseas Student Scholarship, 1st Prize, Seoul National University                                                        2017

  • Best Web Design Award 2016, Winner, Wuhan University                                                                                        2016

  • Best VI Design, Runner-up, East Lake Youth Forum between Taiwan and China Mainland                           2016

  • National Scholarship for Outstanding College Students, 1st Prize, Chinese Ministry of Education                  2016

  • Outstanding College Students Award, 1st Prize, Wuhan University                                                                         2016

Selected Exhibitions

  • Milan Design Week                                                                                                                                Milan, Italy, Apr 2026

  • Florence Annual International Art Exhibition 2026                                                                 Florence, Italy, Jan 2026

  • RedDot 2025 Exhibition: World’s Best Communication Design 2025/26                       Berlin, Germany, Nov 2025

  • Multicultural Art Festival 2025                                                                                         Melbourne, Australia, Nov 2025

  • Art Bethanien Blennial                                                                                                                 Berlin, Germany, Oct 2025

  • 2025 Art Shopping! SALON INTERNATIONAL D'ART CONTEMPORAIN                           Paris, France, Oct 2025

  • Bauhaus@85 Exhibition: 85 Years of Making the Future                                                              Chicago, IL, Oct 2022

  • IIT Institute of Design EOYS 2021                                                                                     Chicago, IL (Online), Nov 2021

  • Hubei Provincial Art Alliance Outstanding Youth Designers Exhibition                                   Wuhan, CN, Jun 2019

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