From May 16-23, the international exhibition "Fractured Horizons," presented by VSDesign in collaboration with PI Art Center, brought together global artists across New York and New Jersey to explore diverse visions of future frontiers. The exhibition built a bridge between human civilization's remnants and post-human landscapes, pointing toward a future that encompasses technology, ecology, and poetic possibility.
As one of the official spotlighted exhibitions of the 2025 NYCxDESIGN Festival, the exhibition brought together global artists to examine how technology and ecology might reshape our world. "We live surrounded by industrial remnants while imagining post-human spaces," the curators explained. "Reality and imagination constantly intersect." Artists reflected on artificial environments, industrial prosperity alongside ecological decline, and our complex relationship with both mechanical nostalgia and an uncertain future.
UX designer Keqing Jiao was invited as a featured participant, bringing her innovative project "Hive AI" to stunning prominence at the exhibition, garnering widespread attention and high acclaim. At the exhibition venue, "Hive AI" distinguished itself through its highly original and systematic design concept, demonstrating powerful potential and forward-thinking vision in user experience design, technological integration, and educational applications.
"Hive AI" is an interactive learning platform that integrates artificial intelligence with knowledge graph construction, using hexagonal "knowledge nodes" as basic units to build intuitive, visual knowledge maps. The platform aims to break through the limitations of traditional "question-and-answer" learning tools, liberating learners from passive information acquisition and restoring their initiative in knowledge exploration. Through features including knowledge node expansion, categorization grouping, and bridging connections, Hive AI encourages users to expand their cognitive maps in non-linear ways, connecting fragmented information into personalized knowledge systems. In this process, AI no longer serves as an elevated "teacher" but transforms into a patient mentor, accompanying users as they gradually construct their own "knowledge universe." The platform also provides multi-dimensional visualization tools including node maps, 3D thematic maps, and presentation modes, creating intuitive and vivid knowledge presentations for different themes and scenarios. "Hive AI" has broken the rigid, singular learning pathways of the past, launching a journey of exploration led by users and assisted by AI.
"Hive AI" was conceived during Keqing's pursuit of a Master's degree in Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. She combined architecture's emphasis on structural thinking with cutting-edge concepts from human-computer interaction, iterating on non-linear knowledge construction designs, ultimately creating this unique AI learning platform prototype. During her graduate studies, Keqing took multiple courses in human-computer interaction and user experience, and this interdisciplinary background laid a solid foundation for "Hive AI”. Her design encompasses both the macro perspective of spatial structures and user-centered interactive innovation approaches. At the intersection of academia and practice, Hive AI gradually evolved from concept to maturity, reflecting the designer's profound thinking about knowledge system and learning methodology transformation.
Meanwhile, "Hive AI" has achieved remarkable success at international design awards, winning the A'Design Award Silver, Muse Design Award Gold, Indigo Design Award Gold, and New York Product Design Award Silver. These achievements fully demonstrate the international recognition of its systematic approach, artistic merit, and educational application value. These awards not only affirm Hive AI's design concept and implementation effectiveness but also highlight the project's extraordinary potential in merging technology with art and serving educational innovation.
Born and raised in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, Keqing showed early interest in art and spatial design. She graduated with first-class honors in Architecture from The Chinese University of Hong Kong before pursuing graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon. After completing her Master's in 2024, she joined a leading American technology company specializing in public safety, focusing on AI-powered B2B digital products. She currently lives in Toronto. Her diverse educational and professional experiences have given her a unique perspective that merges architectural spatial thinking with digital product design, serving as the driving force for her continued progress on a design path where emerging technology intersects with humanistic care.
The NYCxDESIGN Festival, established in 2011, now attracts over 110,000 visitors annually with global media reach exceeding 750 million people. Keqing's participation in "Fractured Horizons" highlights the growing influence of creative designers on the international stage and their role in shaping design innovation.
By: Brian Smith
