Alan Wu

An HCI researcher, designer, and developer passionate about exploring the intersections of human-computer interaction (HCI), user-centered design, AI, and extended reality (XR). I am driven by cross-disciplinary collaboration and dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology and design to enhance human experience, foster creativity, and support meaningful self-expression.

Work Snap

Driven by a deep curiosity about the relationship among humans, environments, and technology, I bring a unique blend of spatial and UX design expertise to my work in HCI. My background in architecture has honed my spatial visualization skills, user-centered design thinking, and systems integration, while my UX experience has deepened my understanding of human behavior and interaction design. This dual perspective allows me to create intuitive systems that thoughtfully integrate technology into everyday environments.

Selected Projects

UMJoin

A UX design project addresses critical commuting challenges within the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor community. By conducting a rigorous context inquiry, including user persona development, story mapping, and user journey, I identified key pain points regarding safety and accessibility. The resulting solution is a university-backed ride-share platform designed to prioritize passenger and driver security while fostering deeper engagement across the campus ecosystem.

UX Design Project

Cool Cook

A UX design srpint for IBM iX + Adobe Design Jam. I led a team of three to design an energy-aware cooking app targeting college students. Instead of addressing broad climate statistics, we focused on micro-habits, creating a prototype that tracks real-time kitchen energy usage and provides personalized efficiency tips. The project was highly successful, earning our team a Top 10 ranking out of 60+ north American competitors.

UX Design Sprint

Robot Mining Game Insights

An interactive visualization aims to help users understand the process and outcomes of the Robot Mining Game, where two teams compete to acquire robots through bidding, with each robot having unique reporting times and social networks. These factors influence team access to subsequent robots over time. This project utilizes various visualization techniques to effectively present quantitative, qualitative, hierarchical, network, and time-series data.

Data Exploration Dashboard

GDP and the Olympics

An interactive visualization explores the link between GDP and Olympic performance using Segal and Heer’s “Martini Glass” structure, blending guided storytelling with customizable data exploration.

Communicative Visualization

About Me

With a strong background in architecture and UX design, I bring a unique interdisciplinary perspective to HCI research, focusing on the intersections of creativity, humanity, and technology. My work centers on exploring emerging technologies such as XR and generative AI through participant-centered and research-through-design approaches. My versatility in full-stack design and development allows me to rapidly prototype, test, and iterate on ideas, ensuring that my research is both conceptually rich and technically grounded.

Skills

HTML / CSS / JavaScript
React / Vue
Three.js / AFrame
Unity / C#
Python
Pydantic / Pydantic_AI
Elixir
Phoenix
Docker
AWS
Figma
PS / AI / ID
Blender
Rhino & Grasshopper