Prototyping Possibility: A Conversation with Designer Wenyu Du

It’s incredibly validating. The award reinforces the value of playful, purposeful design and motivates me to keep exploring the intersection of the digital and physical worlds in meaningful ways.

The recognition has helped increase my visibility within the design community, sparking new conversations, collaborations, and connections. It’s a nice nudge that we’re moving in the right direction.

Experimentation is essential—it’s how I get from ideas to experiences. With Lens, I experimented with different form factors before landing on the monocular-inspired shape. Prototyping helped us translate a complex AR concept into something intuitive and even a little magical.

Probably the monocular itself! It’s an old-school exploration tool, but reimagining it for modern-day augmented reality felt like giving it a new life. Sometimes, history has the freshest ideas.

That good design doesn’t happen in one perfect sketch. It’s messy, iterative, and often full of delightful failures before arriving at something that feels effortless.

I always look for overlap—there’s usually a sweet spot where client needs and creative vision align. Communication and prototyping early help make that balance less of a battle and more of a collaboration.

Translating advanced AR tech into something intuitive was a big one. We overcame it with constant user testing, simplifying interactions, and refining physical ergonomics until it felt natural—even fun.

I go outside—seriously. Nature always resets my thinking. Sometimes the best ideas come when I stop trying so hard to have them.

Curiosity and playfulness are at the core of everything I make. I want people to feel a spark of joy, even in the smallest interactions. Functionality matters, but emotion is what makes it memorable.

Find the area of design that genuinely excites you, and then go deep. It’s okay if it takes time. Just stay curious and keep showing up with your own point of view.

Naoto Fukasawa. His work is so quietly powerful. I’d love to explore how we might combine his elegant minimalism with emerging tech in a way that still feels human.

“Why does your work feel playful?”

Because I believe design should spark joy, not just function. We interact with products daily; why shouldn’t those moments be a little more delightful?