Shihan Liu

For undergraduate art school students who already have foundational technical skills but are still developing their professional outcomes, digital collage and sound art can be very useful tool. Many students always struggle to clarify what they really want to make. Digital collage is an efficient method for organizing complex ideas. By layering images, textures, text, students can illustrate abstract thoughts with visual relationships before starting the final work. Digital collage functions almost like visual brainstorming. It helps students identify recurring themes, aesthetics, and conceptual tensions in their work. Through this research part, they begin to recognize patterns in their thinking and better finalize directions of their projects. On the other hand, sound art opens up important possibilities for interaction and immersion, especially in the context of contemporary creative technology. As recently artworks, sound becomes a powerful tool for engagement. Teaching sound art e...

I selected some cyberpunk-inspired video from YouTube as my reference and used it as a template to create my own short video about a futuristic world. I edited my project using CapCut and focused on building a strong visual rhythm that matches the music. At the beginning of the video, I used four transition effects to combine four short clips into one continuous sequence. I also experimented with speed adjustments and dynamic transitions to create variation between scenes. As the background music progresses, I added beat-matching effects to align visual cuts and flashes with the drum rhythms, enhancing the overall energy of the video. To emphasize the futuristic and cyberpunk aesthetic, I incorporated glowing edge effects, neon lighting filters, and various visual overlays. I also used masks in different shapes, along with layered transitions and lighting effects, to create depth and cohesion. The background visuals consist of four cyberpunk-style ambient videos sourced from YouTube, w...

Digital Storytelling in the Elementary Classroom This video highlights children  can expand their understanding of listening and creativity  through using their voice and environment sounds. Rather than focusing on traditional music, it invites the audience to hear textures, rhythms, and interactions in the world around them. By drawing attention to subtle auditory details, the piece encourages a more mindful engagement with sound and demonstrates how creative practices can emerge from what we might otherwise overlook. Overall, the video shows that listening deeply to our surroundings can reveal new possibilities for artistic expression and connection. TEDx Talk. Emily Bailin, 2014 This talk shows how   digital storytelling   can transform classrooms by giving students a way to express their own experiences through multimedia, like voice, music, images, and video rather than only traditional writing or lectures. By inviting students to share stories from their lives,...

For my remix project, I used the sound of rain on a rainy day as the foundational background layer. The rain creates a natural rhythm that feels immersive and atmospheric. On top of this environmental soundscape, I layered various elements, including drum beats as well as tapping and clicking sounds recorded from everyday objects. By combining natural rain with human-made and instrumental sounds, I wanted to blur the boundary between organic and constructed rhythms. As I edited the recordings in an audio program, I paid close attention to texture and pacing. I spliced the rain in sections where its intensity shifted and arranged the tapping and clicking to echo or contrast the drum patterns. The rain acts as both background and pulse, while the added percussive sounds create a sense of dialogue between environment and human presence. Through this remix, I explored how ordinary sounds can transform into a musical narrative that reflects the interaction between nature, objects, and movem...

In this project, I created two related scanography series exploring the combination between traditional and innovative art forms. The first series only focuses on electrical wires. I arranged and dragged the wires across the scanner surface during scanning to create a sense of movement and instability.  In the second series, I combined many pens with wires. This addition represents traditional art-making tools entering a technological environment. By placing the pen in conversation with the wires, I explored the tension and coexistence between hand-drawn practices and emerging digital forms. I continued experimenting with motion during scanning and later enhanced the images with glitch effects in Photoshop to emphasize disruption and transformation. I presented each series as animated GIFs to highlight process and movement rather than static outcomes. This experiment showed me how everyday materials can become powerful artworks. In addition, it is interesting to work with bo...

Learning Objective 01: The Integration of Traditional Media and Digital Materials I will explore the possibilities of different materials and mediums, creating artworks by combining “new” and “old” materials. I aim to integrate traditional methods such as painting, drawing, and body perception with digital collage, video, or 3D media, which uses various materials for different artwork. Learning Objective 02: Exploring the Value of New Media in Art Education I aim to explore how new media can assist students in expressing themselves and building emotional connections within the classroom, which beyond merely learning software or skills, and strive to translate these ideas into future teaching activities or course structures. Learning Objective 03: Identifying and Resolving Social Issues I aim to discover more social issues, and use more interactive and powerful ways to solve these problems. In digital learning environments, I aim to explore how new media can support a...

This digital collage presents a fantastical landscape that reflects my belief in staying focused on ourselves and living freely at every stage of life. At the center of the composition is an older woman who appears calm, confident, and fully immersed. Rather than being portrayed as fragile or passive, she is active, stylish, and self-contained, existing comfortably within a surreal natural environment. The surrounding landscape is intentionally unrealistic: the colorful sky, exaggerated mountains, and layered textures create a dreamlike space that feels detached from everyday reality. This imagined environment represents an inner world shaped by personal choice rather than social expectations. By placing the figure within this landscape, I wanted to suggest that freedom is not dependent on youth, productivity, or external validation, but on one’s ability to remain connected to their own desires. My process involved combining found images with contrasting scales and textures to blur t...

The act of turning off my laptop and phone was not difficult in itself, yet it left a subtle void in my life. The moment that I closed all my electronics, I suddenly realized how constantly I was influenced by information and notifications. During this time, I found myself unable to calm down. The absence of electronics began to make me restless. I subconsciously sought new stimulation, only to discover that all I had at hand were the most ordinary household items. I realized it had been ages since I would truly observed the objects around me or even myself. Finally, I picked up a nearby mirror and began to examine myself. I used the mirror at hand to observe myself, completing an abstract self-portrait. The mirror became a low-tech yet intensely direct medium, which is no filters, no delays, and no optimization of my expressions. I had to stare at my own face for extended periods, noting subtle shifts: the drift of my gaze, the tension and release of muscles, and how emotions emerged ...

I am Shihan Liu, a product and graphic designer based in New York and Shangha i, passionate about creating human-centered solutions, driving future-driven innovations, and embracing the utility of simplicity to deliver impactful and timeless experiences. Design is a powerful tool to solve real-world and future challenges. I focus on building meaningful experiences that respond to real human needs, blending advanced technologies into thoughtful solutions. Through strategic branding, I turn complex problems into simple and effective outcomes. My experience includes graphic design, interactive design, and creative technology–based projects. I have worked on both digital and physical outcomes, including branding systems, interfaces, installations, and experimental prototypes. While I am still developing my formal teaching practice, I am deeply interested in art education and curriculum design, especially in how technology can expand access, engagement, and ways of learning. In terms of ...