Zhihan LiuToys and play, from first sketch to factory sample.
Zhihan (Dee) Liu · Toy & Interactive Experience Designer · New York
I design collectible kits, interactive plush, tabletop games, and play installations, then prototype them by hand and see them through production. MFA Design & Technology, Parsons.
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From idea to production
How I work- 01
Research the play
Who plays, for how long, alone or together, and what brings them back.
Seen in Whispers, Bad Children Shop - 02
Sketch the characters
Sketches, turnarounds, and renders that show intent. Original IP and licensed IP, including Rakshasa Street.
Seen in Crystal Citizen, Bad Children Paradise - 03
Prototype by hand
Electronics, paper, fabric, and found objects. Cheap rounds people can touch and test.
Seen in A Home Only Without Me, Toast - 04
Make it buildable
Dielines, print files, dimension specs, age grading and safety labels, and sample rounds with manufacturers.
Seen in Crystal Citizen, Whispers - 05
Package and launch
Packaging, instructions, photography, a storefront, and shows where real people use the work.
Seen in Crystal Citizen, A Home Only Without Me
About
BackgroundI moved from poetry to film, led narrative on a shipped mobile RPG built on a licensed anime and comic IP, co-founded a collectible toy brand, then spent my MFA building toys, rooms, and tabletop games that people play with their hands.
Find the mechanic inside the subject. Nüshu became a decoding game, shadows became a size mechanic, a fridge became a crime scene. The rules come from the material.
Let the object carry the story. Plush, cards, capsules, and boxes hold the narrative, so people find it by touching, opening, and matching.
Prototype in the real medium. I build with the actual materials early and test with players, then change what the play tells me to change.
Tools · Sketching, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Blender, ZBrush, Figma, Arduino, ESP32, NFC, Unity
Contact
Open to toy, play, and experience design roles in New York and remote.
The fastest way to reach me is email.