Aaron Pengyu Zhu
💡🌲🌀🔧🖌️
[Sep 2025] I was invited by Tencent’s Tech for Good Programme to visit its headquarters in Shenzhen for three days of tours and exchanges (it was also my first time experiencing a typhoon).
[Jul 2025] I showed a poster and volunteered at DIS'25 in Madeira! Also, I made a zine!
[Apr 2025] I attended CHI'25 in Yokohama (attended a workshop)!
[Jan 2025] I joined the JEDI Lab at Division of industrial Design, National University of Singapore
About Me
Hi, I am Aaron, a designer and design researcher who applies empirical, ethnographical, PD, critical methods and STS theories to shape technologies that are centered on well-being, foster multi-species care, and are vibrant in nature:)
Below are some of the topics that I am currently working on or interested in:
- ☯️ 🤔 Daoism-inspired reflective technology
- 👦 📱 Teenagers’self-regulation of mobile technology with somatic strategy
- 😴 🌲 Envisioning the future of rest with more-than-human approaches
- 🌆 🧒 The well-being of migrant children in Chinese urban village
I am pursing my Master degree in Design at National University of Singapore, advised by Prof. Janghee Cho. I received my B.E. in Interaction Design from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) in Beijing, China.
🎓 I am actively seeking for 2026 Fall PhD position, please don’t hesitate to contact me !!!
Publications
Conference Papers
Unveiling the Invisible Work of Migrant Care Workers in Aged Care Homes: Implications for Future Care Technologies.(DIS ’25 Companion)[Paper]
Pengyu Zhu, Yiming Yao, Haiyue Lu, Tse Pei Ng, Celeste Seah, Janghee Cho, Yiying Wu, and Jung-Joo Lee.
Text Readability of Smartphone in Dark Mode: Effects of Font Type, Font Weight and Color.(HCII 2023)[Paper]
Jun Xiangchen, Pengyu Zhu, Jing Yun, Baixuan Tian, Yalan Yang, and Na Liu.
Workshop Papers
Tao-Technology for Teen Mobile Use: Harmonizing Adaptation, Autonomy, and Reflection (CHI’25 Workshop on Mobile Technology and Teens)[Paper]
Pengyu Zhu and Janghee Cho
Manuscripts
Toward Pluralizing Reflection in HCI through Daoism. (Submitted to CHI’26, Under Review with R&R)
Anonymous Author(s) (As First Author).
Reflecting on Teens' and Parents' Voices on Mobile Technology and AI Through Design Probes, Diaries, and Personal Narratives(Submitted to CHI’26 Meet-ups, Under Review)
Jina Huh-Yoo, Pengyu Zhu, Ji Youn Shin, Angela Ng, Mengyuan Zhu, Katherine di Bona, Minghe Lu, Willow Yoo, Naseem Ahmadpourm, Gabriela Marcu, Janghee Cho.
Projects
Bridging
Co-creation Design Toolkit For Migrant Children in Beijing's Urban Villages
A fictional Singaporean Straits Times caring column 2030
Tempulse
Redefining the temple worship experience for youth
Memory Weaving
AI-generated memory-inspired bamboo weaving patterns serve as a medium for restoration and the continuation of collective memory
Beyond
Designing dining experience for High-Net-Worth people in space travel
An interactive tour system exploring Beijing’s Hutong culture