Yiying Lu | Empowering Through Cross-Cultural Design & Innovation | Talks at Google

Talks at Google

Introduction and Personal Journey

Speaker: Yiying Lu, award-winning artist, bilingual speaker, entrepreneur, SF Art Commissioner
- Named Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, Microsoft's Top 10 Leader in Innovation
- Featured in NYT, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fast Company, The Atlantic, Time, BBC
Moderator: Lisa Lee, Google Docs designer
Event: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebration at Google

Original artwork "Lifting a Dreamer" (2006-2007) became Twitter's fail page icon (2008-2013)
Global cultural impact: street art, LEGO builds, cakes, drinks (Fair Whale Pale Ale, Farewell Martini)
- Fashion interpretations, tattoos (user "Critter" from Florida)
Name evolution: "Lifting a Dreamer" → "Fail Whale" (coined by users)
Personal challenge: dealing with work associated with "failure" as new graduate

Etymology analysis:
- Latin "fallere" = deceive/illusion
- Chinese character breakdown (600 BC oracle bone script):
  - Left: "bao" (treasure/expensive chalice)
  - Right: hand holding wand/stick
  - Meaning: destroy something precious, establish something new
Conan O'Brien's influence: "If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen"
Result: Conan Pale Whale commission 8 months later for TBS show (2010)
Connected with SF families, met Conan in person

Core philosophy: "Function" contains "fun" - inseparable concepts
Visual vs linguistic communication:
- Blue Screen of Death vs Twitter Whale comparison
- Visual language transcends linguistic barriers
- Creates empathy and global engagement

Brief: "Authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese"
Challenge: 70,000+ recruitment campaign for 5 diverse characters
Solution: Chinese paper cut art form integration
- Ancient folk art applied to modern storytelling
- Traditional tiger shoes for Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse: Chinese paper cut motifs, traditional tiger shoes
Simba: Adult/young on same page challenge
- Solution: Tattoo design from animation applied to adult Simba
- African totems, optimistic expression
Mulan: Feminine to empowered transformation
- "We Can Do It" poster pose integration
- Magnolia flower (name meaning) pattern integration
Elsa: Kung fu pose, Chinese paper cut hair/clothing style
Snow White: Equal hierarchy for all dwarfs, forest motif circle design
Campaign result: Successfully recruited ~100,000 people globally

Etymology: Emoji = Japanese pronunciation of Chinese characters
- "E" (drawing) + "Mo" (language) + "Ji" (characters) = "drawing language characters"
First emoji set: 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita for DoCoMo Inc (8-bit)

Dumpling (2015): Universal food concept
- Global variations: Khinkali (Georgia), Gyoza (Japan), Mandu (Korea), Ravioli (Italy), etc.
- Emojination organization formation with Jenny 8 Lee
- Unicode Consortium approval process
- Design evolution: Face removal, 45-degree angle standardization
Chopsticks: Cultural etiquette learning
- Bobby Tong's real-time feedback: Crossed chopsticks impolite to elders
- Design revision: Uncrossed final version
Fortune Cookie, Takeout Box, Peacock: 2016 approval, 2017 release
Boba Tea (2020): 5-year approval process
- Initial rejection: Insufficient data significance
- Data scientists collaboration using Google Search and Books Ngram
- Market research: $1B (2016) to $3B projected
- Cultural significance for AAPI community

Asian American Bar Association: Mental health creative sessions
- Lawyers drawing frustrating vs rewarding moments as dumplings
- Visual storytelling for linear thinkers
- Examples: "Thrown under the bus" creative expression
- Gratitude sharing: Salary appreciation, nonprofit work highlights
Stanford Medical School: Professor/student workshops
University of Technology Sydney: Staff/student sessions
Dropbox Design Team: Underrepresented children (Latinx, Black communities)
Energy level increases: 5 → 9-10 post-session

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