The Stories That Made Us
Proposed platform for research
(2024)
Project Overview
A high-fidelity prototype of a website that allows adoptees to reflect on the children's literature they grew up with I developed for my first DNID capstone in tandem with my funded research fellowship.
This project aimed to contribute to the layered legacy of digital resources and activism that has shaped both the Asian American community and the adopted one, and also, as I put it in my pitch, is indeed a “narrative about narratives.” When considering the proliferation of adoption stories over the past decades, a number of scholars have emphasized the presence and rise of a digital network that coincides with the timeline of adoption within the context of the One Child Policy. My research with the Humanities Center has actually strengthened my understanding of how this project can fit into the digital humanities and vice versa. The digital has also been essential in adoptees authoring their own narratives and taking part in a greater Asian American/racial dialogue.
Users can explore the historical implications of children's literature and literature specifically representing adoption from China/East Asia and contribute their own memories through an online form that would then populate the page.
Client: Digital Narrative and Interactive Design Capstone (University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences)
Timeline: 16 weeks (2024)
Technology Stack:
Figma
ui/ux design
iterative digital storytelling
presentation
research
prototyping
Conducted extensive preliminary field research to hone my proposal.
Why?
This project emerged from a deeply personal and scholarly interest in adoption narratives, Asian American identity, and digital activism. Rather than treating design as an end in itself, I approached it as a human-centered method—a way to surface, question, and reframe the stories adoptees inherit and create. The project was intentionally positioned within digital humanities, drawing on scholarship that emphasizes how digital networks enable marginalized communities to author their own narratives.
Research & Concept Development
Grounded in adoption studies, Asian American literature, and digital humanities, my research explored how digital platforms have shaped adoptee storytelling and community-building. Scholars like Konrad Ng and Jane Jeong Trenka informed my approach to seeing the web as both archive and intervention.
Motivations and Concept
Design Process
I prototyped the site in Figma, moving from basic wireframes to interactive flows using conditionals and animation. Design choices prioritized warmth, invitation, and visual storytelling, especially on the homepage, which became a key point of user engagement.
Key Features
Historic Context and Critical Analysis
Included a dedicated space for historical framing and scholarly critique, allowing users to situate personal narratives within broader adoption histories and digital networks.
Visible Positionality & Research Goals
Made my research questions and personal stake explicit to establish transparency, trust, and ethical accountability—clarifying why this project exists and who it is for.
Emotionally Sensitive User Input
Designed the input experience to feel safe, reflective, and non-intrusive. Language, pacing, and visual softness were prioritized to respect the emotional weight of adoptee storytelling.
Documentation
Along with workshops and the public showcase, I developed extensive documentation and research artefacts which were shared with stakeholders, peers, and professors. This allowed me to gather feedback on clarity, navigation, and hierarchy as well as research foundations.
I took this capstone course when I was a sophomore. Working on this project, my first real experience with Figma, only halfway through my degree gave me a challenging base for the latter half of my coursework and set a precedent for the rest of my work.
Looking back, I learned so much about project organization, research, and my experimentation of Figma was invaluable.