Directory Sheng-Hung Lee
Designer

Sheng-Hung Lee

Sheng-Hung Lee is a designer and researcher working across product design, service design and urban technology. He is Assistant Professor of Urban Technology at the University of Michigan and directs d-mix lab in Ann Arbor, where he develops Design for Longevity, a framework for shaping products, services and city systems around longer lives. His projects include smart homes for ageing populations and financial planning services.

Lee holds a Ph.D. in Human Behavior and Service Design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also completed master’s degrees in Integrated Design and Management and Mechanical Engineering, after studying Industrial Design and Electrical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University. He has researched at the MIT AgeLab and Ideation Lab, and teaches design methods in the US, Europe and Asia.

Related articles

Sep 3, 2026 | Design

What if humans are no longer at the center of design?

Rethinking Design for Longevity through a planetary lens.
Jul 13, 2026 | Design

Designing the Design Toolkit: the hidden design behind successful workshops

“Design as a tool for improving daily life and the appreciation of human existence.” — Jasper Morrison, Utilism vs. Uselessnism (2002)
Jun 5, 2026 | Design

Swimming in the Pool or the Ocean?

The pool has clear boundaries. The ocean has horizons. As a designer, where do you choose to swim?
Apr 15, 2026 | Design

Are we outsourcing our thinking to AI?

From generative exploration to service ecosystems, AI is transforming not only how we design, but how we think.
Feb 23, 2026 | Design

Human skills: design ethnography methods

From Human Being to Human Becoming.
Dec 27, 2025 | Design

From fast food to fine dining: what kind of design education are we cooking?

In an era of AI, the question is no longer how fast designers can work, but what kind of design education we…
Nov 14, 2025 | Design

From photogrammetry to Pi-shaped designers: lessons in future-oriented design

How photogrammetry, immersive environments, and cross-disciplinary education are reshaping the future of Design for Longevity.
Oct 28, 2025 | Design

Designing the Invisible City: how the urban exposome shapes our future

Urban exposome refers to the totality of environmental, social, technological, and behavioral exposures individuals experience in urban settings, and how these exposures…
Aug 4, 2025 | Design

Hijack your mentors: what I’ve learned about design mentorship

Great design solutions don’t appear out of nowhere. They are cultivated. Great designers are shaped by the people around them and influenced…
Jun 21, 2025 | Design

Designing public futures: how civic design transforms policy and participation

“By framing the city as a collection of civic relations, of which customer-provider is just one among many, we can begin to…
May 22, 2025 | Design

Creative Risk: charting an interdisciplinary path in design

The idea of being a T-shaped designer was popularized by IDEO and McKinsey. But as our society moves faster, the expectations for…
Mar 28, 2025 | Design

Designing the invisible: the soft power of design from stuff to systems

Services are everywhere, woven seamlessly into daily life—whether shared platforms like Airbnb, Uber, and Grubhub or subscription services like newsletters, gym memberships,…
Mar 8, 2025 | Design

Beyond simplicity: adequate technology for exceptional design

What is the relationship between adequate technology and human behavior?
Jan 27, 2025 | Material

Making meaningful material: exploring Product Design, Service Innovation, and Social Impact

Materials are not merely physical components but powerful and transformational agents of change. Envisioning materials as a creative currency for design, we…
Dec 16, 2024 | Design

Redefining norms: what extreme users teach us about design

Designing for extreme users demands a deep sense of empathy to uncover hidden needs and challenges. This includes groups that are often…
Nov 12, 2024 | Design

Choreographing power: government innovation through a Design lens

The recent turbulent U.S. presidential election has drawn intense attention, not only from Americans but from a global audience. How can we…
Oct 2, 2024 | Design

Creating with consciousness: how data and design meet desire?

How can we distill the complexity of 3D object information and design challenges into their 2D “shadows” (data) while still meeting individuals’…
Sep 2, 2024 | Design

Transforming Intuition into Innovation: the role of AI and Grounded Theory

Creative intuition doesn’t emerge from a vacuum and can be seen as an art form that bridges design and research.
Jul 31, 2024 | Design

Reimagining gym experiences: LongevityTech health service innovation

This blogpost proposing six learnings from the course and our personal experiences, ranging from pedagogical to design-research related. Each takeway can be…
Jun 7, 2024 | Design

Navigating the New Design frontier: AI’s role in transforming creative processes

How has the design process, exemplified by frameworks like the Double Diamond, evolved with the use of AI? Is there still a…
May 5, 2024 | Design

Expanding horizons: the evolution of user experience spaces

With the advent of extended reality (XR) technologies, particularly the recent introduction of Apple’s Vision Pro, our perception of “space” has expanded,…
Mar 25, 2024 | Design

Using boundary objects for enhanced design perspectives and insights

What are boundary objects? In the context of Star and Griesemer’s theoretical framework, they are envisioned as inclusive and shared spaces, either…
Feb 2, 2024 | Design

Design for Vulnerability (D4V): Adaptability, Artifacts, and Apprehension

As design researchers engaged in the creative industry, how can we enhance our readiness regarding attitude and skills to foster effective collaboration…
Dec 22, 2023 | Technology

From Post-it notes to solutions. From artificial intelligence to anticipating intelligence

Nowadays, many AI-empowered tools and services can be useful resources when designers actually know what they are looking for.
May 31, 2023 | Design

Design for simulation: how to project your future self?

Prototyping, simulating, and refining service design in Design for Longevity (D4L) context. Design for simulation is a critical step to help us…

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