Meet the Class of 2021
Kgothatso Lephoko
Kgothatso is a Senior UX Designer at SpotOn Consulting in Johannesburg, South Africa. With over six years of industry experience, she has worked on websites and native apps (iOS, OS X & Android) for companies including Discovery Limited, M-Net, and Standard Bank South Africa. At Standard Bank, Kgothatso was part of a cross-functional security team in which she played a significant role in crafting a more secure, multi-channel sign-in customer experience. Her thesis, Language In Language Out: Natural Language Processing in the Context of Indigenous South African Languages, explores the extent to which indigenous language speakers in South Africa are disadvantaged by technologies that exclude their languages and how design can be used to contribute to the development of more equitable tools to address this problem.
Karan Mahendra Bansal
Karan is a Senior Product Designer at Cisco in New York City. Born and raised in India, he received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marathwada Institute of Technology, Aurangabad. After graduating, he worked with Infosys Labs for two years as a Systems Engineer, creating platforms for clients focusing on Machine Learning, Business Intelligence, Distributed Computing, Natural Language Processing, and Data Visualization. Karan has also worked as a Business Development Manager for Bansal Scientific Equipments, his family business in India, which provides consultation services around laboratory instruments. There he has worked with clients including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. His thesis, Overwhelmed: Work, Play, Time, and Design, investigates Time Poverty in the context of knowledge workers.
Website: karanbansal.me
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karan-bansal-68b2627a
Bethany Fronhofer
Bethany is part of the creative team at Advisory Trail in Boston, Massachusetts. She studied Biomedical Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology and took additional courses in Manufacturing and Industrial Design. During her undergraduate studies, Bethany gained work experience in Biomedical Engineering through internships at Johnson & Johnson: DePuy Synthes and the University of Vermont Technical Services Partnership. Before entering the MFA Products of Design program, Bethany spent a year working at Allurion Technology in Massachusetts. Her thesis, The Uncommon Core: A Design Exploration of Active Education for Kinesthetic Learners, questions how and why educational design prioritizes some learning styles over others and creates a space to consider new ways of including hands-on learning in curriculums and educational environments.
Website: bethanyfronhofer.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bfronhofer
Shuyi Wang
Shuyi is a DC Consultant and Senior Graphic Designer at Deloitte. She is currently involved in UX/UI design for Pfizer, as well as graphic design and concept design for companies including NVIDIA, Life Science, and OptoAI Drone. After MFA Products of Design, Shuyi was hired as a Graphic Designer at One Step Up in New York City, where she designed for New Balance and RBX Boys Apparel. Before moving to the US, she earned her BA in Product Design from the China Academy of Art in Shanghai. Experienced in a wide range of design practices, Shuyi holds a design patent for a set of audio equipment and has worked with companies including Colgate and ZTE. She is also an artist and illustrator, and her drawings have been exhibited widely, including at the Museum of Chinese in America in NYC. Shuyi's thesis, Buying Possibilities: The Double Edge of Blind Box Culture, explores the phenomenon of purchasing an unknown product for a set price and its use in motivating people to try something new.
Website: shuyiwangportfolio.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shuyi-wang-9500b21a7
Regena Paloma Reyes
Regena is a Senior Experience Designer at Proto in New York City. Regena earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Carnegie Mellon University and has over five years of management consulting experience with clients in the financial services and technology industries. Regena earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Carnegie Mellon University and has five years of management consulting experience with clients in the financial services and technology industries. At Products of Design, Regena began exploring how cities, their high population densities, and the expansive interpersonal networks that arise therein can be used to create cultures of preparedness and resilience at individual, interpersonal, and community scales. Her thesis, N-3+Me: Urban Resilience at Human Scale, investigates factors that promote adaptability in city-dwellers during times of crisis.
Website: regenareyes.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/regenareyes
Siddhant Goyle
Siddhant is a Technical Project Manager in Disruptive Design at Walmart Global Tech. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering. Having interests in consumer behavior, brand management, innovation, and leadership, he decided to pursue an MBA in Marketing at the School of Business Management in Mumbai. Before moving to NYC, he studied Industrial Design for a year at Oregon College of Arts and Crafts and worked as a design intern at Case of Bass, making high-end custom boomboxes. Siddhant has interned with One Championship and was a Service Design Consultant at Get-A-Whey in New York City. His thesis, The Scattered Billion: Designing for the Grey Economy, interrogates the informal sector's scattered nature and the people interacting with it daily.
Website: siddhantgoyle.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/siddhant-goyle
Mia Yiming Xu
Mia is a Product Designer at SimpleHealth, a women's health company in New York City. Originally from China, she received a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts and has won several international awards, including the Britain International Creative Competition and the Singapore Art Design Contest. Before attending Products of Design, Mia created street sculptures and wall paintings with Art & Community, an association designed to bring art projects to under-served communities. Her thesis, Meet You on the Steps: Museums as Social Experiences, questions how design can balance the power relationship between institution and visitor, facilitate visitors' autonomy and satisfaction, cultivate art accomplishments through daily life, and eliminate cultural barriers and stereotypes surrounding conventional art museums.
Website: miaxu-yiming.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mia-xu-a851851a6
Xiaohan Miao
Xiaohan is a Product Designer at Katapult in New York City. Born and raised in China, she graduated with a BFA in Metals and Jewelry from Arcadia University, where she developed skills working with copper, brass, and silver. Xiaohan believes that every object has a story to tell, and during her undergraduate studies, she focused on crafting hand-fabricated sculptures using abstract forms to express emotions and feelings. After joining MFA Products of Design, Xiaohan developed apps and devices to help people reconnect with their families and friends. Her project Crystal House, which allows long-distance couples to sense each other through sending and receiving lights, won a 2020 Summit International Award. Xiaohan’s thesis, Out From Control: Design Interventions Around Emotional Abuse, is an in-depth analysis of emotional abuse towards women in relationships.
Website: miaoxiaohan.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/xiaohan-miao-493972106
Danica Dou
Danica is an Experience Designer at Slalom in New York City. Born and raised in Panjin Liaoning, China, she majored in Biomedical Engineering at Nanjing University with a minor in Creative Arts and Culture. Danica completed an internship as a UX designer in Mindray, a global medical instruments company, where she learned and practiced the design process. Her background in science and engineering provides her with a logical approach to research and finding necessities. Besides wanting to address and tackle urgent societal problems, Danica is also passionate about creating experiences and making art to express herself. Her thesis, Uplifting / Lifting Up: Asian Power From Our Own Hands, is dedicated to fighting discrimination against Asian Americans.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danica-dou-78aaaa18b
Hang Yuan
Hang is a UX Designer at PingPong in New York City. Born and raised in Quzhou, China, he earned his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design from Zhejiang University City College. Combining contemporary fashion elements and knitting techniques, Hang once cooperated with the successor of Coir Raincoat—a type of ancient Chinese raincoat—to redesign this traditional artifact. Inspired by this project, Hang believes that contemporary designers should not just focus on the market as the field of design is increasingly concerned with social value. He recently attended the Adobe Creative Jam competition, where he presented his UX project, Firefly, a tablet app designed to inspire teenage students to discover design in their daily lives. In his thesis, Inter-Generate: A Set of Design Offerings for Chinese Empty Nesters, Hang deconstructs the "empty-nest syndrome" from three perspectives: medicine, interpersonal relationships, and philosophy.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hang-yuan-5b63981a3
Zhenxuan Wang
Zhenxuan is a Graphic Designer at Rexing in New York City. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Product Design from Beijing University of Technology, focusing on furniture design and consumer goods. During this period, Zhenxuan also participated in the Salone Satellite at Salone del Mobile.Milano, a furniture exhibition in Shanghai. After graduating, Zhenxuan interned as a furniture designer and buyer at a design company in Hangzhou, which deepened her understanding of the relationship between business and design. Her thesis, Second-Hand, Second-Love: Reimagining Sustainable Fashion in China, focuses on changing the perception of second-hand clothing in Asia and building a sustainable lifestyle.
Website: zhenxuanw.net
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zhenxuan-wang-84117a1a6
Guanghui Bi
Bi is an Experience Designer at Troph Inc. in Beijing, China. He grew up in Beijing, where he majored in Industrial Design at Beijing University of Technology. During his undergraduate studies, Bi pursued conceptual experiments in guiding communication and bonding between strangers. He developed a VR game for rapid transit called "Real Subway Surf," where people ride the subway as if they are surfing together. While at MFA Products of Design, he developed these kinds of conceptual design projects and meshed them with real-world scenarios. Bi's thesis, Bursting Bubbles: Learning About Others Through Digital Play, focuses on sparking joyful interactions among individuals—more specifically, creating opportunities for people to appreciate the diversity of others by sharing common interests.
Website: guanghuibi.me
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/guanghui-bi-858666217
Crystal Lo
Crystal is a Brand Strategist and Graphic Designer at VMGROUPE / LBCVMG in New York City, where she works with brands including Gucci, Michael Kors, and Alexander Mcqueen. Born and raised in Taiwan, Crystal received her BA in Industrial Design from Tatung University. As an undergraduate student, she won several awards, including the Corning Innovation Competition and the Taiwan International Student Design Award. Before joining MFA Products of Design, Crystal interned at Think-IF Design and Mitra Star Technology Company. As one of the co-founders of the STV Street Dance Video Team, she promotes the public association of Taiwanese street dance. Crystal's thesis, Sparks: Marriage, Connection, and Design, presents solutions to improve satisfaction and rekindle passion in long-term marriages when couples feel their relationships are strained.
Website: chingyilo.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/crystalluos
Yufeng Peng
Yufeng is a service designer based in New York City. Originally from Shenzhen, China, he graduated from Shenzhen University with a BA in Urban Planning. Yufeng completed an internship at Shenzhen Planning & Land Development Research Center and was employed as a product designer for electronic devices at VHBox Studio. After his first year at MFA Products of Design, Yufeng decided to change his direction from product design to service and business innovations for rapidly developing industries, focusing on the new relationship and value generation between potential groups. His thesis, Disintermediation and Design: Customers, Producers, and the Platform, Yufeng explores this topic from three angles: career planning for Chinese students, physical manufacturing, and the food industry.
Website: yufengpeng.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yufeng-peng-340239191