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NY Product Design AwardsEnter Award

Interface & User Experience

Family Re:Union: A Presence-Centered Family Connection

Entrant: Lingyu Li(Independent Designer)

2026 Silver winner badge
2026

Silver

CategoryInterface & User Experience
Class / SubcategoryUser Experience (UX)
Communication UX
Country / RegionUnited States

The project

Project description.

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Long-distance separation is a defining reality for millions of migrant worker families. Communication often relies on brief phone calls or text messages, leaving long gaps where family members know little about each other’s daily lives.

Family Re:Union explores a new model of communication based on presence rather than constant messaging.

The platform translates everyday work activities into subtle digital signals that allow families to sense each other’s routines from afar. Instead of requiring active communication, moments such as tool usage, shift completion, or daily activities are transformed into small indicators of presence within a shared virtual home environment.

Through ambient signals, collaborative tasks, and lightweight interactions, family members can stay emotionally connected while participating in a shared digital space. By reframing work activity as a form of communication, Family Re:Union introduces a new approach to remote family connection—one where presence can be felt even when words are few.

Project credits.

Lingyu Li

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