MENGYU CAO

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• Mengyu Cao, a visual designer is exploring interactive design and technology in MFA Design & Technology program at Parsons. She is very passionate about design works. She loves concept developing, UI, UX design, visual design, and branding design.

LUNHUI -- UPCYCLED CREATIONS

Lunhui is a tech startup proposal that functions as a platform for bringing together city residents and craftspeople. It supports up-cycling and creates art and design objects by providing unwanted material pick-up service and by matching the inventory to craftspeople to support their creations. It helps to give unwanted objects new life cycles, away from landfills. I would like more people to be involved in up-cycling and creativity circles by providing easy and efficient technology.

• • Lunhui was created to drive demand for up-cycling and to bring city residents together. The service connects individuals who are decluttering with craftspeople who make products from recycled materials. The goal is to reduce waste, create value, fulfill customers’ feelings of satisfaction, thrift, and resourcefulness, as well as bring support and encouragement to cooperators who are artists, designers, and craftspeople. It provides new solutions for waste and helps people form a habit of treasuring resources and changing their behavior of throwing things out.

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  • Four questions drive my solution.
    Why is up-cycling a good solution for waste problems?
    How can we create an up-cycling loop to turn waste into new products and link people who throw things away with craftspeople who can reuse waste in this loop?
    What is the best way /media /platform to connect all the things together to build the loop?
    Can up-cycled products be attractive and fashionable, as well as accepted by the majority of people?

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  • The final output of my project is an artificial bot-centered up-cycling service that connects customers (people who need decluttering) and cooperators (artists, designers, craftsmen, who are working on recycling and up-cycling). The service gets unwanted stuff from customers and sends matched items to cooperators who create new products from the waste. After their creations, the service also helps the cooperators to sell these products in a new marketplace. The creations are then redistributed to customers via the bot. Customers can get points by giving their stuff away and the points can be used toward the price of new creations that they buy. I believe that there is a marketplace in waste and demand for up-cycling. My project is a new way to facilitate up-cycling with a convenient decluttering service for customers and efficient material supply to craftspeople.

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  • Lunhui is the Chinese term for reincarnation. The original meaning of reincarnation is the revolution of the soul from body to body whether animal, human, angelic, or of the gods. Here, I think that objects have reincarnation as well. People throw many things alway. Landfills should not be the end for unwanted stuff. There are many craftspeople, artists, and designers who are working on recycling and up-cycling, giving objects new life circles. As a platform, Lunhui helps to enlarge the up-cycling and creation loop.

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  • Lunhui Website: https://www.lunhui.online/ Lunhui Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we.cycle_/ Lunhui Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lunhui.wecycle/