Han ZhangCreative tech + Design research
gracehan2333@gmail.com
I'm a designer, researcher, and creative technologist based in Los Angeles California. Born in Guangdong, shaped by three years of UX research and product strategy in Shanghai, now pursuing MFA in Media Design Practices at ArtCenter in Pasadena.
I build systems exploring how culture and technology shape cognition; like...how pop culture rewires expectations, how surveillance changes behavior, how interfaces train us to think. My work asks: how do the tools we design reshape the way we perceive and interact?
- User researcher
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Senior analyst
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- Head of user research
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- Media design practices
- Bilibili
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Kantar
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OutIn
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ArtCenter
- 2022 - 2024
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2024
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2025
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2025 - 2027
See my CV here
WorksExperiments
Tolerate it?
Metaphorically connecting the increasing tolerance for both life's hardships and caffeine
DurationJuly 2024 - October 2024RoleConcept, Design, DevelopmentTechnologiesArduino, Processing
Tolerate it? is an interactive installation that metaphorically connects the increasing tolerance for both life's hardships and caffeine. By utilizing Arduino for real-time ECG readings and Processing for visualization, the installation intuitively reflects the performer's stress levels. Through this work, I aim to convey that enduring suffering doesn't guarantee success or happiness but instead fosters tolerance, potentially leading to an unhealthy state.#Interactive Installation
#Performance
#Hardware
#ECG Sensors
Research
Growing Caffeine Dependence
Methodology
- Desk Research
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Questionnaire, N = 117
After beginning work, coffee has played an increasingly vital role in my life. Initially, it was simply a straightforward tool for me to stay alert, but now, having coffee has become a natural habit in my life, as ordinary as breathing. It has subtly integrated into my daily routine, becoming a part of my existence.
I Become a Coffee Enthusiast
Am I an Exception?
The Correlation Between Hardship and CoffeeSuffering is merely suffering; it is we humans who have always endowed it with other meanings. Enduring pain does not necessarily lead to success, but it will certainly increase our tolerance, allowing us to bear more and more pain. However, such a process is both meaningless and lamentable.
The Mechanism of Caffeine
Normally...
Once Drinking Coffee...
After Long-term Caffeine Intake...
Self-Motivation Analysis
Initially, I couldn't stand the bitterness of coffee. But as I faced academic and work challenges, I often imagined that I could overcome the difficulties just as I had learned to tolerate the taste of coffee. Gradually, I came to see the bitterness of coffee as an inevitable part of the journey towards success and happiness.
What Happens When One's Tolerance for Suffering Increases?Persistent uncontrollable negative events lead to a sense of powerlessness and resignation, creating a negative psychological loop, potentially harming health.
Learned helplessness - a maladaptive adaptation to the tolerance of suffering.
In people’s imagination...
But the fact is...
Design
Installation ConceptThe performer controls the infusion of coffee liquid into silicone tubes covering the body at three different flow rates, symbolizing the gradual development of caffeine tolerance. During each infusion, the performer passively endures the disruptive blare of alarms, while their ECG fluctuates from intense spikes to eventual stability—representing the increasing resilience to life's hardships.
Hardware Setting
Circuit Diagram of the ECG Sensor
Software Setting (coding)See my detailed code here:
Visual Effects Sample
Low stress - Most of the points are green, with clear and steady trajectories.Medium stress - Yellow and red points appear, with fluctuating trajectories and unstable cycles.High stress - Many red points with fluctuating, unstable trajectories form a petal-like pattern.
Final Effect
Initially, the performer activates the pump, symbolizing caffeine intake as coffee flows through the tubing. An alarm sounds, which represents the hardships encountered in life, and the performer's heart rate spikes with discomfort. In subsequent interactions, rising coffee concentration indicates growing caffeine tolerance. Despite a more urgent alarm, the performer's expression and heart rate stabilize, showing adaptation to life's hardships.
See the full video here: