Xinyu Zhao
BIO
Xinyu Zhao is an industrial design student whose practice focuses on material exploration and lighting design.
Her work investigates how unconventional and biomaterials can be transformed into functional objects, with an emphasis on texture, translucency, and sensory experience.
Through experimental processes, she explores how material and light interact to shape atmosphere and user perception.
CAPSTONE PROJECT
FRUTTA
FRUTTA explores the aesthetic potential of food-based biomaterials in lighting design. By transforming dried fruit and gelatin into a translucent sheet material, this project investigates how natural color, texture, and irregularity can become a primary visual language rather than a limitation.
Unlike conventional diffusers that aim for uniform light distribution, this piece embraces variation—allowing light to pass through organic patterns, creating layered shadows and subtle color shifts in space. The work positions biomaterials not only as sustainable alternatives, but as expressive design elements that evoke warmth, tactility, and a connection to nature.
FEATURED Work
Title: FRUTTA
Dimensions: 36 x 7 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Fruit leather; Gelatin Acrylic tube; LED strip lighting; Hanging wire cable; 3D-printed PETG end caps
Title: FRUTTA
Dimensions: 36 x 7 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Fruit leather; Gelatin Acrylic tube; LED strip lighting; Hanging wire cable; 3D-printed PETG end caps
Title: FRUTTA
Dimensions: 36 x 7 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Fruit leather; Gelatin Acrylic tube; LED strip lighting; Hanging wire cable; 3D-printed PETG end caps
Title: FRUTTA
Dimensions: 36 x 7 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Fruit leather; Gelatin Acrylic tube; LED strip lighting; Hanging wire cable; 3D-printed PETG end caps
Title: FRUTTA
Dimensions: 36 x 7 x 2 in.
Year: 2026
Materials: Fruit leather; Gelatin Acrylic tube; LED strip lighting; Hanging wire cable; 3D-printed PETG end caps
CONTACT
XINYU ZHAO
She/Her