Press Release
Chiwon Lee Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Curi AI Mentoring Platform in Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design
Chiwon Lee honored for mobile technologies, applications and software design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design category for Curi AI Mentoring Platform by Chiwon Lee, designed for Cogito. The result belongs to the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached 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.
The A' Design Award Explained
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 Curi AI Mentoring Platform
Curi is an AI mentoring platform that leverages Agentic AI and advanced LLMs to deliver high quality career guidance. Using real mentor data, Curi dynamically matches mentees with AI mentors based on their interests, enabling seamless, pressure free interactions. Designed to address the opportunity divide linked to the digital divide, Curi democratizes access to mentorship by providing personalized, data driven career insights. Regardless of societal background, users gain an intelligent and adaptive mentor capable of offering tailored advice, bridging the gap between ambition and opportunity.
About Chiwon Lee
Chiwon Lee is a Product Designer that specializes in user research, user experience design, user interface design for emerging technology with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) user experience interaction design. Chiwon's design and research work has been awarded the Red Dot Design Award and her research work has been published at CHI, the most prestigious academic conference for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Chiwon graduated early from MIT with a full scholarship based on merit. During her time at MIT, she served as the Research Assistant for the MIT Media Lab's Futures Committee and was the recipient of the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund for her design practice.
Award Record
Chiwon Lee is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted between the 2023 - 2024 and the 2024 - 2025 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design Award
The A' Mobile Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good design in mobile industry by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to mobile designers, application developers, software engineers and user interface designers from all countries. Typical entries include smartphones, tablets, wearables, mobile applications, mobile games and mobile software. The awarded mobile designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/mobile
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is 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. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously 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. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which 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, uploading a work and receiving a 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. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/163592
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/163592
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!163592
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/347544
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
- Curi AI Mentoring Platform
- Function
- AI Mentoring Platform
- Category
- Mobile Technologies, Applications and Software Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Software and Electronics & Appliances
- Colors
- Royal Blue, Lavender, Gainsboro, Cornflower Blue and Medium Slate Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Cogito
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Chiwon Lee
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #163592
Credits
- Team
- Lauren Choi, Seongbin Lee, Hyunjong Joo, Giah Kim, Hyobin Cho and Yeji Shim
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Curi is an accessible AI mentoring platform designed to bridge the career opportunity gap. It features an Agentic AI mentor, trained on real mentor data, that adapts to users' interests and needs. By providing a pressure-free space for mentees to ask questions and explore careers, Curi ensures quality mentorship is always within reach. Through intelligent matching and seamless interaction, it empowers users to gain insights, build confidence, and navigate their professional journeys with ease.
- Inspiration
- This design redefines mentorship by addressing the opportunity divide created by the digital divide. The goal is to make quality mentoring accessible to those who need it most. Through in-depth user research and competitive analysis, we identified key challenges in existing platforms, uncovering gaps in usability, accessibility, and engagement. These insights shaped a more intuitive, impactful solution that empowers individuals to connect, learn, and grow without barriers.
- Research
- This research combined quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the challenges mentors and mentees face with traditional mentoring platforms. The goal was to uncover key pain points and improve the mentoring experience. Data was collected, analyzed, and synthesized into actionable insights to inform a more effective and user-centered solution.
- Challenge
- The research challenge focused on understanding the needs of users affected by the opportunity divide caused by the digital gap. A key insight revealed that mentees often feel pressured to ask intelligent questions despite limited career knowledge, while mentors struggle to allocate time for minor inquiries. To bridge this gap, the Agentic AI mentor was created, allowing mentees to ask career-related questions freely while helping mentors manage their time more effectively.
- Realization and Technology
- The research and design process leveraged Figma and FigJam for prototyping, Blender for 3D visualization, and the OpenAI API for AI-driven prototyping, ensuring a seamless and innovative workflow.
- Operation and Interaction
- Users step into Curi, choose an industry, position, and location, and get matched with an AI mentor built on real professional insights. The AI mentor adapts, offering tailored career guidance through seamless, interactive conversations. Key moments include selecting a mentor, exploring insights, and diving into real mentor stories. Curi transforms career discovery, making it intuitive, engaging, and packed with real-world wisdom for better decision-making.
- Project Duration and Location
- Launched in 2024, the project was developed remotely by a team of designers and researchers across New York, Singapore, Seoul, and California, fostering a global collaboration.
- Specifications
- The design dimensions are 393px by 852px, optimized for iPhone 14 & 15 Pro and iPhone 16. The interface is scalable, ensuring adaptability across various screen sizes. AI mentors are trained in career-related information, with a focus on technology and fields popular among high school and college students. All data fed to AI avatars is carefully screened for quality and accuracy, ensuring reliable guidance.
- Keywords
- Mentoring, AI, Generative AI, User Experience, Opportunity Divide
