2026

Zhuoyun Zheng

Hi, I’m Zhuoyun Zheng. I am a multidisciplinary design student with an open and exploratory approach to creative practice. My current focus lies in interaction design using TouchDesigner, as well as animation in both 2D and 3D forms.

I am interested in how design can translate complex ideas from nature, humanities, and social contexts into experiential and narrative-driven works. I enjoy working across mediums and constantly learning new tools, driven by curiosity and a strong motivation to grow within the field of design.

Becoming a Cyber Magician

This is an interactive project combining TouchDesigner and MediaPipe, where users can cast magical effects through hand gestures.

The inspiration for this project comes from my childhood love of animation and anime. Ever since I was young, I’ve always dreamed of becoming one of those magical protagonists from animated worlds. Even now, I still hold onto that imagination. So I wanted to create an interactive, filter experience that could fulfil a childhood dream of mine.

A major inspiration for this work comes from many popular fantasy and magic-themed animations. I noticed that elemental magic – such as fire, water, lightning, wind, and other natural elements – appears very frequently in these stories, so I decided to incorporate those elements into my gesture-based magic interactions.

Each gesture is also carefully connected to the visual characteristics of the magical element itself. For example, the lightning effect is represented through a one-finger tapping gesture, because lightning visually feels sharp, thin, and directional.

When I Don’t Feel Like Running

This work is inspired by a quote from ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ by Haruki Murakami: “Some days I don’t feel like running. Those are exactly the days I run.”

Based on this idea, I created an animation centred around the theme of running. The core message of the work is that real progress does not come from momentary enthusiasm, but from consistent persistence and repeated practice.

In the narrative, I portray the psychological states and real challenges of a person during training – from the fatigue and reluctance upon waking up, to the setbacks and falls encountered while running. The process is neither smooth nor filled with excitement; instead, it is often monotonous, repetitive, and at times even painful.

Yet it is precisely in those moments of resistance that the character chooses to keep running. Through daily accumulation and perseverance, they ultimately achieve a personal breakthrough and reach a symbolic ‘finish line’ of success.

Through this work, I hope to convey a simple but important idea: in any endeavour, what determines the outcome is not talent or temporary motivation, but the ability to keep moving forward despite difficulty and fatigue.

Zhuoyun Zheng

Email address

Instagram

Web Portfolio

Biography