Xiao Zhang earned a master’s degree in interaction design from Simon Fraser University. Her educational background is in industrial design. Before moving to Canada, she had participated in diverse industrial product design projects in China. The products include televisions, military binoculars, NC grinding machines, and cars. As an interaction designer, she had been involved in projects aiming to design useful household technologies which yet possess no intended functions. Her Ph.D. research focuses on understanding the gap between HCI research and professional design practice in the technology industry.