Press Release
Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Learno Interactive Learning Experience in Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design
Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang of DirecTV honored for education, teaching aid and training content design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 24, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Learno Interactive Learning Experience by Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang of DirecTV, designed for Ruhaus Design, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the A' Design Award
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
Regarding Learno Interactive Learning Experience
Learno is a digital learning platform designed for K12 education. Academic subjects appear as explorable worlds within a unified spatial knowledge map. Students select a personalized AI companion and follow adaptive study journeys with real time feedback and learning recommendations. Progress is shown through gamified milestones, and immersive virtual reality scenarios offer guided reset moments when students feel tired. The platform works across tablets, desktop interfaces and virtual reality, and supports both academic progress and emotional wellbeing.
About Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang
Junru (Jennie) Xu stands out as an exceptional award-winning product designer and UX lead, boasting eight years of rich experience in product design, user experience, and human-computer interaction. Her remarkable UX design initiatives, particularly those with a focus on social impact, have earned her prestigious accolades, including Asia Design Awards, the Muse Design Awards, London Design Awards, and the first prize from Chicago Women in Architecture.
About DirecTV
DirecTV, established on June 17, 1994, is an American multichannel video programming distributor headquartered in El Segundo, California. It initially gained prominence by offering digital satellite television services across the United States.
Award Record
With this recognition, Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang of DirecTV is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2023 - 2024 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design Award
The A' Education Design Award is an international competition recognizing good education products and projects by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to education designers, teaching aid designers, training content creators and curriculum developers from all countries. Entries typically include textbooks, e-learning platforms, educational games, training manuals, instructional videos and interactive whiteboards. Awarded education designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/education
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/183378
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/183378
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!183378
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/352458
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://ruhausdesign.com/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Learno Interactive Learning Experience
- Function
- Interactive Learning Experience
- Category
- Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Education
- Colors
- White, Linen, Light Salmon, Chocolate and Tan
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Ruhaus Design
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Junru Xu, Jianing Wei and Yueqi Zhang
- Country
- United States of America
- Brand
- DirecTV
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #183378
Credits
- Team
- Junru Xu, Jianing Wei, Yueqi Zhang, Tian Gao and Yino Li
- Image Credits
- Key Visual: Team LEARNO, Knowledge Realms, 2025. Showcase; Team LEARNO, User Flow & Interface, 2025. Showcase; Team LEARNO, Visual Design Zoom-in, 2025. Showcase; Team LEARNO, User Scenarios, 2025. Showcase; Team LEARNO, Immersive Learning Interface in VR, 2025.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Learno is an immersive AI-powered learning ecosystem for K12 education. It introduces a spatial knowledge realm universe where academic subjects become explorable worlds within a unified learning map. Personalized avatars, emotionally intelligent AI tutors, and adaptive study journeys transform conventional learning into an engaging and confidence-building experience that supports both academic progress and emotional well-being.
- Inspiration
- LEARNO was inspired by the hidden academic pressure faced by millions of K12 students worldwide. While many digital learning tools focus on performance and efficiency, motivation, confidence, and emotional wellbeing often remain overlooked. This project explores how design, AI, and immersive environments can reshape learning into a supportive journey, helping students feel guided, motivated, and emotionally understood while developing knowledge and long-term resilience.
- Research
- This project is based on exploratory design research on student motivation and emotional wellbeing in K12 learning environments. The objective was to investigate how immersive environments and AI companions could support engagement and confidence. Methods included literature review, learning journey mapping, and speculative interaction prototyping. Insights revealed that spatial learning environments and emotionally responsive AI tutors could significantly increase intrinsic motivation and perceived learning support.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge was designing a learning system that supports both academic progress and emotional wellbeing. Existing digital learning tools prioritize efficiency and performance metrics, often overlooking students’ motivation and psychological resilience. The project required integrating AI personalization, immersive world-building, and educational UX design into a coherent learning ecosystem while ensuring the experience remained intuitive, supportive, and engaging for a wide age range from K12.
- Realization and Technology
- LEARNO was developed through a human-centered design process integrating UX research, AI interaction design, and immersive world-building. The interface system was designed using digital product design workflows including user journey mapping, interaction prototyping, and gamified spatial information architecture. AI learning companions are conceptually supported by adaptive learning algorithms and emotion-aware conversational systems, while immersive VR scenarios provide guided emotional reset experiences within the learning environment.
- Operation and Interaction
- Students begin by selecting a personalized AI companion aligned with their learning style and personality. Through the Knowledge Realms map, learners navigate different subject worlds such as STEM, arts, and wellness. AI tutors guide students through adaptive study journeys, providing real-time feedback, learning recommendations, and emotional support. Progress is visualized through gamified milestones while immersive VR environments offer guided reset experiences when students feel overwhelmed or fatigued.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in October 2025 in the United States and was developed through iterative design research and prototyping throughout November and December. The concept and interface design were completed in early 2026 as part of an exploration into future AI assisted learning ecosystems for K12 education.
- Specifications
- LEARNO is a digital learning platform designed for K12 environments. The system includes a multi-layered interface architecture composed of a spatial learning map, adaptive study dashboards, AI tutor interfaces, and gamified learning progression systems. The platform is designed for cross-device environments including tablets, desktop interfaces, and immersive VR learning scenarios. The interface visuals and interaction components were designed using scalable UI systems optimized for digital education environments.
- Keywords
- AI Learning Platform, Adaptive Learning Journey, Gamified Learning System, Spatial Knowledge Map, K12 Educational UX Design
