What They Told Me - PARSONS DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 2025

Yingchen Zheng

Designer and creative thinker

Hi, I’m Yingchen Zheng, a bilingual designer, translator, and creative thinker based in New York. My practice moves across visual design, curation, digital media, and language, with a focus on storytelling and human oriented solutions. I work to create experiences that spark connection and reflection, whether through museum graphics, art installations, or cross cultural communication. With a background rooted in both systems thinking and hands on craft, I see design as a tool to make sense of complexity and to ask better, more empathetic questions.

Socially Engaged

Thesis Faculty

Board game, 2025
Mixed media: printed board, cards, laser cut tokens, designs done in Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate

What They Told Me translates the subtle negotiations of relationships into a shared and reflective experience. Designed for two to six players, the game centers on conversation as both a mechanism and a mirror, where progress is shaped by what players are willing to express and receive.

As participants navigate a changing landscape of dilemmas and values, the objective is not individual victory but a state of mutual balance. Inspired by contemporary dating culture and psychological insights, the game brings abstract dynamics into focus through structured dialogue and interaction.

This work invites players to pause, engage, and consider the often unspoken forces that influence how we connect. It is not only an opportunity to play, but to understand.