By: Elias Rui
In a design landscape rapidly reshaped by technology, sustainability, and human-centered thinking, voices like Bilan Liu remind us that design isn’t just a profession — it’s a bridge between people, culture, and meaningful change.
Bilan spent her childhood sketching ideas into notebooks and observing the quiet beauty of everyday life. Creativity wasn’t something she chased — it was simply how she existed. The small details she noticed and her instinct for visual storytelling planted the early seeds of the designer she would eventually become.
As she grew, that curiosity evolved into exploration. Early in her education, Bilan studied industrial design — drawn to the relationship between function, form, and the human experience. But over time, she found herself increasingly fascinated with communication design and digital product experience — where design didn’t just shape objects, but behaviors, relationships, and emotions. That shift became a turning point, helping her define what kind of designer she wanted to be: one who designs not just to solve, but to connect.
Today, Bilan is a product and visual designer recognized for her thoughtful approach and award-winning work across branding, digital experiences, and sustainable design. Her work is often described as clear, warm, and intentional — a balance of structure and feeling that makes technology feel more human. As her projects evolved, they began to gain international recognition, earning honors such as the Red Dot Award, MUSE Award, NYX Gold Award, and IDA Design Award. These milestones didn’t just validate the craft — they affirmed her belief that design grounded in empathy, clarity, and sustainability can create meaningful impact.
Her path, however, wasn’t a straight line. Early in her design education, Bilan explored industrial design before shifting toward communication and product design. This transition helped her understand function, emotion, and storytelling as interconnected rather than separate disciplines. She eventually pursued a Master’s degree in Interaction Design from the California College of the Arts, turning a childhood fascination into a defined, purposeful career.
As the design industry evolves, Bilan pays close attention to emerging creative movements. One trend she finds especially compelling is the rise of AI-generated visual creation. Tools like Midjourney, Adobe’s Firefly, and Figma Make are reshaping how designers ideate and prototype. To her, AI isn’t a threat — it’s a creative collaborator that expands possibilities. She notes how artists such as Refik Anadol transform datasets into immersive digital experiences, demonstrating that intelligence — whether artificial or human — can also be poetic.
Photo Courtesy: Bilan Liu / AIGC Projects
Yet despite her interest in emerging technology, Bilan’s compass remains grounded in something timeless: meaning. Whether she’s designing a digital product, visual identity, or brand experience, her work centers on connection, clarity, and care.
One of her proudest milestones is the visual identity for BrightSideGoods, a project that allowed her to merge sustainability, aesthetics, and storytelling into one cohesive system. The brand’s identity — clean, compassionate, and quietly confident — reflects her belief that design doesn’t need to shout to evoke a strong emotional response.
Photo Courtesy: Bilan Liu / Bright Side Goods
Her creative mission remains rooted in a simple but important question:
How can design make life better — not just easier, but more meaningful?
Influenced by designers like Dieter Rams and Kenya Hara, Bilan views design as a language — one capable of evoking memory, belonging, and emotional clarity. Her background in photography also shapes her sensibility: composition, light, silence, and timing matter just as much to her as typography and layout grids.
What she finds most rewarding is seeing her work exist in the world — being used, interacted with, and made part of someone’s everyday experience. That moment where a design moves from concept to reality — where a user smiles, understands, or feels considered — is where she feels the work becomes complete.
As she describes it:
“Design is at its best when it connects people — not just through visuals, but through understanding, empathy, and experience.”
Her work continues to explore that philosophy — whether through emerging technologies like AI or through grounded, human-focused design practices that remain timeless.
And for Bilan, this journey isn’t about arriving.
It’s about refining, learning, and staying curious — one thoughtful project at a time.
