By: Rowan Casey
Ziwei Song is an internationally recognized product and experience designer whose career bridges creativity, technology, and empathy. With over 20 international awards, her work has been celebrated globally, including the Red Dot Design Award, A’ Design Award, MUSE Design Gold Award, C2A (Creative Communication Award), LICC (London International Creative Competition), IDA (International Design Awards), and Indigo Design Award, among many others. These honors reflect not only her technical mastery but also her vision: to create designs that aim to go beyond functionality—designs that can spark emotion, foster connection, and make technology feel more human.
Song’s work stands at the intersection of design and compassion. Whether she is building systems that help connect families, guiding AI to understand human needs better, or crafting digital experiences that evoke trust, she views design as a means to shape how people live, care for, and communicate in a rapidly changing world.
A Journey Across Industries
Song began her career in the design studio environment, where she first discovered the joy of transforming abstract ideas into tangible experiences. Early on, she learned that great design starts with listening—understanding not just what users say, but what they feel. Her curiosity and drive soon led her to Nagarro, a global consulting firm known for tackling complex design challenges across industries. There, she collaborated with world-class clients including Hilton, Porsche, and The North Face, designing experiences that connected digital ecosystems with real-world emotion. Each project sharpened her ability to adapt her creative voice while deepening her empathy for different audiences.
“Every brand had its own rhythm,” Song recalls. “The challenge was to listen closely—understand its values, its people, its customers—and translate that understanding into design that feels authentic.” This cross-industry exposure ultimately refined her design philosophy: that successful design is never one-dimensional. It must balance business goals, technological innovation, and human empathy to truly resonate.
Today, Song carries that philosophy into her work at Verizon, where her mission has evolved from designing for brands to designing for families—and for the well-being of future generations. Joining Verizon marked a turning point in Song’s career. She was no longer just creating digital experiences—she was shaping the ways families interact with technology on a daily basis.
At Verizon, she works within the Verizon Family ecosystem, a suite of experiences designed to support the health, safety, and emotional well-being of families in the digital age. This includes features that assist parents in guiding their children’s online experiences, tools that promote digital balance, and innovations that encourage healthier, more connected living.
For Song, this work carries deep meaning. “I’ve always believed that technology should empower families, not overwhelm them,” she says. “Design has a responsibility to help people feel safe, supported, and connected—especially in moments that matter most.” Her approach goes beyond pixels and interfaces. She imagines herself in the shoes of the people she designs for—a mother trying to protect her child online, a teenager striving for independence, or a family navigating the digital world together. Each scenario informs how she brings empathy and AI into harmony: using intelligent systems to anticipate needs, while ensuring that every interaction feels caring, intuitive, and human.
One moment that stands out in her memory was when user feedback revealed how parents felt “reassured” and “heard” by the product she helped design. “It reminded me,” she reflects, “that design isn’t about control—it’s about trust. The real success is when people feel emotionally safe using what you’ve created.”
Beyond her corporate role, Song also co-founded 3.1 Studio, an independent design practice dedicated to exploring experimental and socially meaningful design work. The studio serves as a creative lab where she investigates how design can drive positive social impact, emotional connection, and ethical innovation.
Human-Centered Innovation
For Song, empathy is not just a design principle—it’s the foundation of innovation itself. “Design is ultimately about understanding people—their needs, their emotions, their unspoken challenges,” she explains. Her ongoing exploration of AI and design has given her a unique vantage point on the future. While AI can enhance personalization and predict behavior, she believes it must be guided by empathy to remain ethical and meaningful.
“In the age of AI, empathy is not optional—it’s essential,” she says. “Technology should adapt to people, not the other way around.”
Looking Ahead
As technology accelerates, Song envisions a future where empathy remains the cornerstone of innovation. She believes designers have a growing responsibility to ensure that the digital world evolves with humanity at its core. Her journey—from design studios to consulting global brands, and now to crafting family-focused innovation at Verizon—demonstrates her rare ability to move fluidly across scales and industries without losing sight of her purpose.
With over 20 international awards recognizing her achievements, Ziwei Song continues to inspire the global design community. Yet what drives her most is not recognition—it’s impact. “Design, to me, is a bridge,” she says. “Between people and technology, between complexity and clarity, between today and the future we hope to build.”
And as the world becomes ever more connected, Ziwei Song stands at the forefront—reminding us that the most powerful form of innovation is, and always has been, empathy.
For more information on Ziwei Song’s journey and her award-winning designs, visit her official website.
Additionally, you can explore her interviews and articles on her work here:
