On August 5, HOTO welcomed around 40 industrial design students from the NICE Global Summer School to its Shanghai headquarter. The students came from Tongji University, Aalto University, Delft University of Technology, and the University of Lapland, bringing together perspectives from different design backgrounds and cultures.
As one of the program’s industry exchange stops, HOTO opened its workspace to the students, offering a closer look at its products, design approach, and product development process. The visit also created an opportunity for HOTO to share some of the practical thinking behind its products, while hearing fresh perspectives from a new generation of designers.
Looking Beyond the Product
Zhang Yuxin, Product Design Director at HOTO, opened the conversation by sharing how HOTO approaches design across aesthetics, functionality, and user experience. For the team, these elements are closely connected: the way a tool looks, feels, and works all contribute to how easily people understand and use it.
Yuxin also spoke about how these considerations begin well before a finished product reaches the user. Every detail from how a tool is held and stored to how its functions are understood—can shape the experience of using it.
As she put it, “When those decisions are made well, a tool does more than work. It helps people feel confident, capable, and connected to what they create.”
That idea became a starting point for a broader conversation about what happens when design meets real users.
From Design Decisions to User Experience
For Zheng Lu, Head of Tool Products at HOTO, designing a tool means constantly making decisions beyond its appearance. His role brings together design thinking, product development, technical considerations, and, ultimately, the needs of the person using the tool.
That perspective shaped the Q&A with the students. Instead of focusing only on how a product looks, the discussion moved into questions that designers encounter throughout development: What does a user need to understand immediately? How can a function be made simpler without sacrificing performance? And what makes a tool feel intuitive from the very first use?
The students brought their own observations and perspectives to these questions, while Lu shared how HOTO considers them when developing products for everyday use. The conversation showed that many design decisions are ultimately about reducing friction between people and the tools they use, making a product easier to understand, more comfortable to interact with, and more natural to use.
For HOTO, this kind of exchange is exactly why we welcome young designers into our workspace. Students get to see the realities behind products they might otherwise encounter only as finished objects, while the HOTO team gets to hear questions and perspectives from a new generation of designers.
Keeping the Conversation Open
We believe design becomes stronger through dialogue. Supporting young designers is therefore not only about sharing our products or design philosophy, but about creating opportunities for genuine exchange.
HOTO will continue to open its doors to young designers, engage in conversations across different perspectives, and learn from the people who are shaping the future of design.
Author: HOTO PR Team
