Charlotte Gao spending time outdoors with a dog

Charlotte Gao · Experience Designer & Creative Technologist

[email protected] ↗

I'm a New York–based experience designer pursuing an M.A. in Learning Technology and Experience Design at NYU. With a background in Digital Media Technology at Beijing Film Academy, I create learning experiences, interactive worlds, and AI stories that turn research into clear, human, and emotionally engaging work.

View selected work ↓

Selected work

2023 — 2026

AI Film

AI short film

01 / AI Short Film

Fly Horse

A story about Alice in Wonderland syndrome

A small winged white horse approaching a portal in Fly HorseView project ↗

An AI short film using shifts in scale, perception, and reality to translate a disorienting neurological experience into a cinematic story.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

Graphic & Image-Making

AI visuals, photography & 3D

P01 / AI Image Poster

AI Aesthetics Poster

Character design, scene design, and world-building

AI aesthetics poster featuring cosmic science-fiction worlds and eastern-inspired character imageryAI aesthetics poster featuring a dream playground, fantasy characters, and pastel creaturesAI aesthetics poster featuring campus fashion, fantasy couture, character design, and Eastern-future landscapes

A three-part AI poster series exploring cinematic worlds, character design, fantasy environments, fashion, and imaginative visual direction.

Selected work · 2026

V02 / Illustration · AI Image Making

Watercolor & AI Visual Studies

Hand-rendered color, character, and image explorations

Watercolor painting and AI visual studies including fish, characters, sculptures, and orange fabric installation imagery

A selection of watercolor paintings and AI-generated visual studies, spanning playful character work, color experiments, and atmospheric image-making.

Selected work · 2023 — 2024

V04 / 3D Modelling · Rendering

Material & Object Studies

Observed detail through digital modelling and surfacing

3D renders of a weathered lantern, amplifier, ornate teapot, shoe, aircraft, and carpet

A set of 3D objects and render studies focused on material texture, product form, lighting, and ornamental detail.

Selected work · 2023 — 2024

V05 / Photography · Art Direction

Photography Studies

Portrait fragments, atmosphere, and found visual narratives

Photography studies featuring portraits, paper textures, sea horizon, color light, and carved stone figures

A photographic series exploring body detail, paper texture, color, light, sea horizons, and graphic interventions in public space.

Selected work · 2023 — 2024

Product Design

Physical product & interaction systems

U01 / Product & Interaction Design

Ocean Sense

Underwater guidance for first-time divers

Ocean Sense underwater vision and interaction conceptView project ↗

A multifunctional diving-mask concept for beginners, combining real-time environmental data, underwater navigation, and safety alerts to make early dives more legible and reassuring.

Jul 2024

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UX + Learning

Research-led learning and collaboration

02 / Learning UX · Group Project

CloudSync

Online collaboration for graduate students

CloudSync task management and team communication interfaceView project ↗

A unified collaboration experience designed around fairness, visible contribution, reduced tool friction, and supportive awareness.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

Open full process ↗

01

Background

First-year graduate students face scattered communication, unclear roles, uneven participation, and constant switching between collaboration tools.

02

Research

Personas, scenarios, and storyboards surfaced three priorities: fairness and accountability, an integrated workflow, and visible support.

03

Prototype

We designed a unified project hub with tasks, calendars, messages, shared files, progress visibility, and clearer contribution tracking.

04

Testing

Internal cognitive walkthroughs and peer reviews with three participants used completion, error, and severity measures summarized in a Rainbow Sheet.

05

Iteration

We clarified global navigation, prioritized My Tasks, added check-off interactions and onboarding context, and improved progress, calendar, and quick-action visibility.

03 / Learning Experience · Group Project

Info Judgment

Digital media literacy for Grades 4–6

Info Judgment three-step source, evidence, and motive checkView project ↗

A role-based experience that helps young learners evaluate online claims through source, evidence, and motive.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

Open full process ↗

01

Background

Grades 4–6 students often react to online posts intuitively, without a repeatable way to evaluate credibility.

02

Research

We organized information judgment around three memorable questions: Who posted it? What is the evidence? Why was it shared?

03

Prototype

The clickable Figma experience combines role cards, one simulated post, guided questions, Trust / Not Sure / Verify decisions, and sorting practice.

04

Testing

Walkthroughs and peer review examined whether learners could find credibility cues, follow the sequence, and explain a final judgment.

05

Iteration

We strengthened visual warnings, clarified the guided sequence, and added repeated practice to shift learners from instinct to reasoned explanation.

Web Art

Experimental web experiences

U03 / Web Art & Immersive Media

Fire of Love

A volcanic web experience shaped by documentary emotion

An anatomical heart illuminated in red for Fire of LoveView project ↗

An experimental web-art project connecting the documentary Fire of Love with Icelandic volcanic landscapes. Abstract motion, sound, and imagery translate scientific observation into an emotional digital journey.

Aug 2024

Fire of Love portfolio process layout 1
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Vibe Coding

Rapidly built, playable web products

04 / Vibe Coding · Narrative Game

High School Simulator

A choice-driven coming-of-age experience

High School Simulator opening screenView project ↗

A senior-year simulation where relationships, identity, and small decisions continuously reshape the story.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

05 / Vibe Coding · E-commerce

Cookie Pet Goods

A bilingual local storefront for thoughtful pet essentials

English Cookie Pet Goods homepage featuring accessories for dogs and catsView project ↗

A warm, mobile-friendly shopping experience for a small pet-goods brand serving New York and New Jersey. The site brings product discovery, ordering, and local fulfillment into one clear flow.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

  • Chinese / English interface
  • Category filtering
  • Product selection & shopping bag
  • NJ / LIC pickup and NYC courier guidance

VR + Immersive

Embodied learning, stage & spatial media

U02 / VR Learning Experience

Perceptual Creativity

Learning ink painting through embodied practice

Perceptual Creativity virtual reality ink-painting experienceView project ↗

A virtual-reality learning experience that introduces primary-school students to the expressive logic of Chinese ink painting through guided color, brushwork, and spatial interaction.

Jun 2024

Perceptual Creativity portfolio process layout 1
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V01 / Projection Mapping · Video Design

Ancient City Projection Mapping

A public-facing visual narrative for Henan’s historic architecture

Projection mapping concepts and night-time architectural projections for an ancient city in HenanView project ↗

A projection-mapping piece that turns a historic building into a moving stage for Chinese poetry, character design, animation, and night-time spectacle.

Selected work · 2023 — 2024

V03 / TouchDesigner · Interactive Visuals

Kinect Motion Visuals

Body movement translated into real-time stage imagery

TouchDesigner node networks and Kinect-driven live visual effects for dance performanceView project ↗

An interactive TouchDesigner work using Kinect body and hand tracking to generate responsive particles and live visual effects for performance.

Selected work · 2023 — 2024

Games + Interaction

Playable worlds & physical interaction

06 / AI Interactive Game

Before We Grow Up

A choice-driven coming-of-age story

Yoroll extreme sports interactive film menuView project ↗

An AI interactive game that combines cinematic storytelling with player choices, letting each decision reshape the path toward growing up.

Sep 2025 — Sep 2026

U04 / VR Narrative Game

The Moon Forgot

Finding individuality inside a world of sameness

A glowing moon-like sphere inside The Moon Forgot VR worldView project ↗

A narrative VR game inspired by Jimmy Liao’s The Moon Forgot. Its stylized world turns social conformity into a playable metaphor and invites players to recover their own ‘inner moon.’

Feb 2024

The Moon Forgot portfolio process layout 1
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U05 / Interactive Installation

Desire Tangles

A physical metaphor for desire, capture, and release

Colorful suspended spheres entangled in threads for Desire TanglesView project ↗

An interactive installation that uses the logic of a spiderweb to visualize how desire expands, entangles, and can lead to harmful consequences—prompting reflection on restraint and letting go.

Jul 2023

Desire Tangles portfolio process layout 1
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About

New York / 2023—26

Designing across media,
always for people.

I studied Digital Media Technology at Beijing Film Academy and now pursue Learning Technology and Experience Design at NYU. Along the way, I have contributed to AI interactive video and game work at LinearGame, immersive digital narratives at Tencent, and user-centered AR and VR concepts through projects with Baidu and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

My process moves between user research, learning science, interaction design, prototyping, and visual storytelling. I work across Unreal Engine, Unity, Maya, Adobe Creative Suite, TouchDesigner, and creative coding to turn complex ideas into experiences people can understand and feel.

AI FilmmakingVibe CodingLearning UXInteractive FilmVR DesignWeb ArtInteractive InstallationUser Research
Contact[email protected] ↗