Academic Title
Associate Professor
Educational Background
1990 Bachelor’s Degree in the Department of Industrial Design, Wuxi Institute of Light Industry
1999 Master’s Degree in the Department of Industrial Design, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University
2003 Ph.D. in the Department of Information Art and Design, Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University
Professional Experience
Since 1990, Guan Yan has held positions at China Light Industry Packaging Engineering Joint Company, Beijing Red Square Decoration Design Company, and as Design Director at Beijing Polar Star Electronics Co., Ltd.. In March 1999, she joined the Academy of Arts & Design at Tsinghua University, where she has served as a Lecturer and Associate Professor. She was also a Visiting Scholar at Parsons School of Design in the United States.
Professional Affiliations
Member of the Design Ergonomics Committee, Chinese Ergonomics Society
Standing Committee Member of the Information Interaction Design Committee, China Industrial Design Association
Member of the Art and Design Subcommittee, National Committee on Computer Education
Member of the Committee on Network Technology and Intelligent Media Design
Executive Director of the China Infant and Toy Association
Honorary Professor at Beijing JiaHua Design College
Other Roles
2018-2019 Taught the undergraduate course "Design Methodology" at the Digital Media College of Beijing Film Academy.
2017 Served as an evaluation expert for the logo design, WeChat interaction promotion, conference activation device, and promotional video for the "Women’s Menopause Health Campaign" organized by China Health News.
2016 Served as the final judge for the "Smart Toy Design Competition" organized by the China Toy Association.
2016 Served as the evaluation expert for the acceptance review of the "Calligraphy Interactive Installation" project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
2016 Appointed as an Honorary Professor in Digital Media at Beijing JiaHua Design College.
2015 Served as the Discipline Leader in Digital Media Design at Tianjin Tiens University and assisted in the application for the Digital Media major.
2012 Served as the final judge for the National Youth Multimedia Design Competition with the theme "Youth Safety Education."
2009 Served as the final judge for the VIA Cup National Middle School Student Computer Network Application Design Competition.
Academic Philosophy
With a background in industrial design, Guan Yan specializes in interaction design and user experience innovation, focusing on the theory and methodology of natural interface interaction design, as well as the integration of design thinking and STEAM education.
In the era of artificial intelligence, the societal demand for talent has shifted. The outdated educational philosophies and teaching models of the industrial age urgently need renewal. Education should be people-oriented, aiming to enhance students' comprehensive abilities in knowledge integration, innovation, and self-cultivation. This involves promoting localized STEAM+ education, transitioning from exam-oriented education to quality education, and fostering diverse, personalized, and socialized learning models that leverage the positive impact of new technologies on education, thereby addressing future opportunities and challenges.
Research Directions
Natural interface interaction design and user experience innovation; digital cultural creativity and interactive exhibition design; future education innovation and evaluation methods.
Academic Achievements
2019 Co-authored the textbook "Science Exhibition Design," published by the China Association for Science and Technology Press.
2018 Two invention patents currently in the public announcement phase.
2018 Co-authored the paper "Design Innovation Research on Children’s Educational Publications in the Intelligent Era," published in the Packaging Engineering Journal.
2018 Led the "Xiangyang Science Museum New Museum Operation Research Project."
2018 Played a key role in the content planning of the Qinghai National Cultural and Art Center, Qinghai Jianghe Cultural Museum, and Qinghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall project.
2018 Directed the webpage interface design for the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University.
2016 Works "Ming and Qing Ancient Alley" and "Yangwuling Kiln" were exhibited at the 2016 Linz International Electronic Arts Festival, ranked second in authorship.
2016 "Yangwuling Kiln" was exhibited at the "Heritage Exhibition" held by the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, ranked second in authorship.
2012 Obtained two utility model patents, ranked first and third in authorship.
2010 Directed the "Chaoyang District Road Navigation System Design Competition" project, receiving the Second Prize for Design Proposal from the Chaoyang District Government.
2010 Co-authored the textbooks "Computer-Aided Painting Tutorial" (second author) and "Three-Dimensional Sculpture Art: Spatial Composition" (third author).
2009 Published the paper "Pervasive Computing and Natural Interface Interaction Design" in Issue 5 of 2019 of the journal "Decoration."
2009 Published the doctoral dissertation "Theory and Methodology of Natural Interface Interaction Design," earning a Ph.D. degree.
2009 Work "Daqing Oil Museum Drilling Hall Design" won the 2009 Helloapm President’s Award at the Korea Design Trend Research Association Design Competition.
2007 Participated in the creation of "1000 Mobile Phones," exhibited at the "Synthetic Media Era" exhibition at the National Art Museum of China.
2007 Co-authored the textbook "Computer-Aided Industrial Design," published by Higher Education Press.
2007 Published the paper "Computer Knowledge Structure for Industrial Design Students," included in the 2019 National Industrial Design Conference Proceedings.
2006 Collaborated on the media artwork "Traveler" with Parsons, exhibited at the "2006 Beijing International New Media Art Exhibition and Forum" at the China Millennium Monument.
2005 As the first author, the new media artwork "Ice Journey" was selected for the 10th National Art Exhibition.
2005 New media artwork "Alien Space" was exhibited at the "2005 Beijing International New Media Art Exhibition and Forum" at the China Millennium Monument.
2004 Edited the textbook "Computer-Aided Product Design," listed as a key textbook in the 11th Five-Year Plan.
2003 Served as the executive director for the design of seven interactive exhibits at the China Geological Museum.
2001 As the first author, published the translation "Navigation," by Light Industry Press.
2001 to present Published over ten academic papers in core journals and international conferences (omitted).
1999 Created the multimedia teaching courseware "Material Forming Technology."
Before 1996 Early product designs such as "Electronic Voice Alarm Clock" and "Beauty Massager" were successfully launched and sold in the market.
Publications
Edited 2 textbooks and co-authored 5 textbooks.
Papers
Published over ten papers in core journals.
Research Projects
Participated as a key member in over ten national, provincial, and social science projects. Led one undergraduate teaching reform project at Tsinghua University, participated in two others. Holding two utility model patents and two national invention patents, two collaborative works were exhibited at the 2016 Linz International Electronic Arts Festival Campus Exhibition.
2020 Led the Ministry of Education’s industry-academia research project "Interface Design Basics" syllabus and course system construction.
2020 Participated in the "Mixed Reality-Based Winter Olympics Situation Visualization and Consultation Design" project for the Science and Technology Winter Olympics.
2020 Participated in the "Art and Technology Innovation Talent Development for the Winter Olympics" project for the Science and Technology Winter Olympics.
2019 Led the "Xiangyang Science Museum New Museum Operation Planning and Management Research" project.
2019 Published the science education textbook "Science Exhibition Design and Planning," co-edited by Guan Yan, published by the Science Popularization Press.
2019 Led the horizontal project "Museum Website Design."
2019 Participated in the "Global and Entire Process Situation Awareness and Operation Command Support Technology for the Winter Olympics" project for the Science and Technology Winter Olympics.
2018 Led the "Qinghai Jianghe Cultural Museum Exhibition Content Design" project for the Qinghai National Cultural and Art Center.
2018 Led the university teaching reform project "Design Thinking and Innovation."
2018 Played a key role in the practical teaching reform project "Eye Tracker Experiment Design and Application Teaching."
2015 Led the horizontal project "Robot UI Design," funded by Beijing Yihe Wood Technology Co., Ltd.
2015 Played a major role in the Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology’s project "User Experience Evaluation of Beijing’s Online Public Services," producing a research report and evaluation manual.
2015 Played a key role in the "Digital Integration System Design for Yiyang Regional Intangible Cultural Heritage" project under the National Science and Technology Support Program, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
2011 Participated in the design project for the Digital Museum for Tsinghua University’s Centennial Celebration.
2011 Participated in the National 973 Program project "Theory and Methods of Digital Protection of Cultural Heritage."
2010 Played a major role in Tsinghua University’s independent research project "Innovative Application Design Research for Future Lifestyles Based on Intelligent Pervasive Computing."
2010 Played a key role in the national key social science project "New Media Art Forms," focusing on media art and education, producing a research report.
2009 Participated in a collaborative research project with Nokia, titled "Mobile Service Design for China’s Low-Income Population."
2009 Led the horizontal project "China’s Opportunity" mobile service innovation design research, funded by Nokia’s UI Design Department in Finland.
2008 Played a key role in the "Beijing 08 Olympics Digital Museum" design project, funded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
2007 Participated in the horizontal project "Shenzhen OCT Science Museum Exhibition Hall Design."
2003 Led the horizontal project "Birthstone Interactive Installation Design," funded by the National Museum of China.
2002 Played a major role in the National 985 Program project "Information Design."
2001 Played a major role in the National 985 Program project "Computer-Aided Industrial Design."
Major Awards
2020 MOOC "Introduction to Interface Design" was awarded the title of National First-Class Online Course, attracting over 40,000 learners since its launch in 2017 and being adopted in various institutions’ blended learning courses.
One work won the Korea Design President’s Award.
New media artwork was selected for the 2005 10th National Art Exhibition.
Participation in an exhibition design project won the Third Prize for Excellent Design at the National Museum in 2003.
Teaching Experience
2020 Led the 2019 class of the Information Art and Design Department 910, 911, and 912 to win the Second Prize in the Tsinghua University "A-Class" Competition.
2019 Collaborated with Tobii Corporation to showcase student work in open classes, receiving positive feedback.
2019 Served as a judge for the "Challenge Cup" Innovation Competition organized by Tsinghua University Student Union.
2017 Student project "Future Café Concept Design" from the course "Information Design Methodology" won the Excellent Project Award from Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts & Design.
2017-2020 Collaborated with Alibaba’s design team for four consecutive years, broadening students’ perspectives. Jointly held four open classes, earning positive feedback.
2017 Launched the MOOC "Introduction to Interface Design," with over 20,000 enrollments in its first year.
2015 Teaching outcomes of the course "Information Design Methodology" were exhibited at the National University Design Teaching and Practice Exhibition held by Shanghai University.
2012 One undergraduate student supervised by Guan Yan won the Excellent Graduation Design and Thesis Award from the Academy of Arts & Design.
From 2001, Guan Yan has served as the lead instructor for courses including "Information Design Methodology," "Foundation of Interface Design," and "Design Thinking and Innovation."
Since 2012, Guan Yan has focused on children’s education, exploring the intersection of interaction design and educational innovation. During her visit to Parsons School of Design in New York from 2013 to 2014, she studied and observed STEAM education practices in the United States. After returning to China in late 2014, she guided students in a series of design practices centered on interactive children’s educational toys and software development, gradually accumulating experience. Subsequently, she developed several experimental courses, which were piloted at Tsinghua University’s affiliated primary schools and some training institutions, receiving positive feedback. Current research topics include STEAM education innovation and quality education evaluation methods.
