Ciccy Lyu

Ciccy Lyu is a PhD candidate at Eindhoven University of Technology, working at the intersection of textile design, material science, and human–computer interaction. Her research explores how interaction can be embodied through dynamic materials, with a particular focus on translating intangible dimensions, such as temporality and digital data, into tangible, sensorial experiences.

Working within a research-through-design framework, she collaborates closely with chemists and material engineers to bridge advanced materials and soft robotics through design methods and tools. Focusing on liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), her work investigates how the development of LCE-based actuators can become accessible to designers by shifting programmability from molecular design to textile structuring, and how actuation programmability can become the interaction logic itself, enabling decentralised and user-participatory soft robotic systems.

Ciccy Lyu studied architecture with a focus on spatial and sensory experience, receiving her BArch from Wuhan University, China, with an exchange at Victoria University of Wellington. She later received an MA in Fashion Design from the Royal College of Art, London, where her research project and thesis “Sensory Extension: Applying Synaesthesia in Art and Design” were archived in the RCA Library. She later worked as a fashion designer based in London, focusing on bridging digital creation with tangible fashion artefacts. Her work has been presented at international design venues and media platforms, including London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, World of WearableArt, and SHOWstudio.

Ciccy is currently a PhD candidate at Eindhoven University of Technology within the Interactive Matters cluster. Working at the intersection of material science, textile design, and human–computer interaction, her research explores how design methods and advanced materials can enable expressive, affective, and engaging forms of interaction.