The Art of Designing AI Experiences — Yumei Feng on Clarity, Empathy, and Trust

Artist Weekly Contributor

By: Kelvin Yu

In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping every aspect of work and life, Yumei Feng has become a distinct voice in redefining how people experience it. Known for her thoughtful approach to AI and human-centered design, she focuses on making intelligent systems transparent, approachable, and deeply human.

“Design is how intelligence becomes approachable,” Yumei says with conviction. “It’s not about what AI can do, but about helping people understand what it’s doing—and why.”

From Storytelling to Systems Thinking

Yumei’s path into design began not with technology, but with stories. Fascinated by how people make sense of complex worlds, she was drawn to the invisible patterns that shape understanding. At the University of California, San Diego, she found the perfect medium to explore both sides of her mind—creativity and logic—through Cognitive Science with a specialization in Design and Interaction.

“What excited me was how design starts from observing human behavior,” she recalls. “You learn to see not just what people do, but why they do it.”

One class took her to a local elderly center, where she and her team observed how older adults interacted with digital devices. What she discovered wasn’t resistance to technology—it was exclusion. “The systems weren’t built for them,” she says. “That realization stayed with me: technology fails when it forgets who it serves.”

Motivated by that insight, Yumei later created a project focused on helping the elderly manage multiple medications safely. She designed an interaction-checking tool that identifies potential drug and food conflicts in a clear, accessible way—an innovation that has since received more than ten international design awards.

These early experiences cemented her belief that design is a form of translation: a bridge between data and empathy, between logic and human meaning.

The Art of Designing AI Experiences — Yumei Feng on Clarity, Empathy, and Trust

Photo Courtesy: Yumei Feng

Designing for Understanding

After graduation, Yumei entered the world of enterprise design, where she learned to navigate the intricate balance between business, technology, and humanity. Working across industries—from data privacy to healthcare and finance—she found herself drawn to moments when design could bridge the unfamiliar.

At one point, she helped a team at a major tech company rethink how engineers interact with privacy tools, creating a clearer dialogue between technical systems and human judgment. In another project, she redesigned a data platform for medical field teams, transforming spreadsheets into intuitive visual stories.

Each experience deepened her fascination with how people build trust in technology. “In complex systems, design becomes an act of empathy,” she says. “It’s how you make the invisible feel understandable.”

Humanizing Automation

That philosophy led her to Orby AI, a startup focused on reimagining automation. There, Yumei designed Orby Flow, a platform that allows people to create automations by simply describing or demonstrating a task—turning intricate logic into natural conversation.

She envisioned automation not as something mechanical, but collaborative. Her interface encouraged users to test, revise, and teach the AI—creating a cycle of learning between human and machine. “I wanted people to feel like they were mentoring intelligence,” she reflects. “It’s not about speed—it’s about partnership.”

Her work helped shape Orby’s evolution and inspired a growing movement in agentic design—where AI systems learn with people, not apart from them.

Shaping the Culture of AI Design

Beyond her product work, Yumei is deeply passionate about experimenting with emerging AI tools and exploring how they can expand the role of designers. At her organization, she piloted the use of Lovable, an AI-powered prototyping platform, to help designers turn ideas into testable concepts faster—allowing teams to showcase and validate designs with PMs, engineers, and users early in the process.

She also encourages designers to think like product builders. “If you notice a pain point in your own life,” she says, “why not design—and even build—the solution yourself? With today’s technology, you no longer need deep technical expertise to bring ideas to life.”

To her, the next era of design will be defined by this shift: from designing interfaces to designing possibilities. “In the future,” she reflects, “the people who shape the world won’t just be those who can code—it’ll be those who can imagine.”

Photo Courtesy: Yumei Feng

Looking Ahead

As artificial intelligence becomes ever more present, Yumei envisions a future where everyone has an AI companion—a collaborator that listens, adapts, and amplifies creativity while remaining transparent and humane.

“The next era of UX isn’t about screens,” she says. “It’s about orchestrating intelligence—making it feel less like code and more like conversation.”

Through her work and philosophy, Yumei Feng continues to redefine what it means to design for intelligence itself: to bring warmth, clarity, and empathy to the most complex systems shaping our world.