People
Research is done by people. Those here now, and those who have passed through.
An EEG session
Jaewan Park
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Techno Design, Kookmin University
The Affective Design Lab, led by Jaewan Park, studies people's emotional responses. It looks at what people feel as they experience digital products, screens, virtual characters, and virtual spaces.
Park studied film/video and animation at the California Institute of the Arts. As a student he joined the animated short The Wonder Hospital, where he built the character rigs. When the film won the Best Student Project Prize at SIGGRAPH 2010, he felt for the first time what it is to move an audience. He then earned a Master of Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University, working on collaborative projects with global companies such as Microsoft and Electronic Arts. For the next seven years he ran the design studio PYPEP. In 2021 he joined Kookmin University and opened the lab, and by the time he received a Ph.D. in Design from Yonsei University in 2026 he had carried out a range of projects and written a number of papers. Testing what he had learned by making things became the basis of the lab.
The lab treats the emotion that design artifacts convey to audiences and users as data rather than a vague feeling. In user studies, it measures EEG, gaze, and other bio-signals together to read emotion as it happens. It then sets the feeling a design should give people and keeps asking whether the designer's intent actually reaches the audience. Its work so far has covered digital humans, in-vehicle virtual assistants, and the evaluation of XR experiences.
Affective Design, Design Science, UX/UI, Human-AI Interaction, Extended Reality (XR)
- Ph.D. in Design, Yonsei University, 2026
- M.E.T., Carnegie Mellon University, 2012
- B.F.A., California Institute of the Arts, 2010
- Reviewer, Korean Society of Design Science, 2022–present
- Reviewer, International Journal of Psychophysiology (Elsevier), 2026
- Reviewer, Multimedia Tools and Applications (Springer), 2026
- Reviewer, ACM UIST 2026 (Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology) Special Recognition for Outstanding Review
- Reviewer, National R&D Projects, Korea, 2025.01, 2025.07, 2026.07
- Executive Board Member, International Division, Korean Society of Design Science, 2026–present
PhD Students
- Ewha Womans University, BA — Philosophy and Art History
- California Institute of the Arts, MFA — Experimental Animation
Digital Storytelling, Exhibition Design, Moving Image Design
- Wuhan University of Technology, MFA — Industrial Design
Industrial Design, Media Art
Master's Students
- Kookmin University, BFA — Industrial Design
XR Interface, UX Research
Interfaces for Virtual Reality / Virtual Agent Appearance / Generative AI Content / Measuring and Visualising Affect / 5 papers — 3 as an undergraduate researcher, 2 since
- Hongik University, BFA — Design Convergence
HCI, Interactive Media, AI
Generative AI Content / Entertainment Media 1 — Student Work / 1 papers
- Dong-A University, BDes — Industrial Design, Visual Media Design
UX/UI Design, HCI
- Sahmyook University, BFA — Art and Design
AI, Media Art, Interactive Media
On Leave
- The Collaboration Works, Director
- Ravensbourne University London, MA
3D Projection Mapping, Media Art
Former Members
- GIST, BS — Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Kookmin University TED, MFA — Integrated Design
2025–2026
Alumni
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Integrated Design
- Daegu University, BFA — Integrated Design
2026
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Integrated Design
- Hongik University, BA — Economics
2026
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Design Science
- Kaywon University of Art & Design, BFA — Video Design
Effects of Advertising and Media Art Types on Flow and Entertainment Gratification (2024)
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Design Science
- Kyung Hee University, BFA — Industrial Design
The Impact of Applying CPTED in Virtual Reality on Fear of Crime (2023)
Fear of Crime in Virtual Environments / Virtual Agent Appearance / 5 papers
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Design Science
- Hansung University, BFA — Product Design
Evaluation of Interface Design for Video See-through Head-mounted Display: Focusing on Walking Users (2023)
VinylC
- Kookmin University TED, MDes — Design Science
- Chungbuk National University, BFA — Visual Design
Proposal of Wayfinding in Virtual Art Museums: Focusing on FoMO and Flow (2023)
Virtual Museums and Exhibition Experience / Galactic Dreamscape / 2 papers
Undergraduate Interns
- Kookmin University, BFA — Film and Video Design
Dexter Studios
- Kookmin University, BFA — Automotive and Transportation Design
Hyundai BNG