Chuanlin(Cinta) Xia
Music Producer, Learning Designer,
UX Designer, Entrepreneur, Life-Long Learner
Chuanlin (Cinta) Xia builds bridges between sound, community, and technology. Her creative path first unfolded in the digital realm, crafting interactive tools like the emotion-mapping app MeloMind and the gamified music platform MeloGo, and then moved into community spaces through participatory projects like Sensoria. In building these experiences, she confronted a central tension: in a world eager to automate creativity, how can technology truly nurture, rather than replace, our human capacity for deep attention and authentic expression?
Over time, she began to notice a quiet throughline in all of these projects: listening and stepping back — a way of paying attention that was already present in her work. When she later encountered the practice of Deep Listening, it felt less like a new direction and more like finding language for this existing instinct. Through Sensoria and other community workshops, she now shifts the focus from screens to senses, cultivating shared “muscles” of patience, presence, and embodied awareness. This practice of listening deeply to people and place forms the core of her philosophy, shaping how she designs tools — both digital and analog — to scaffold more meaningful and accessible creative expression for everyone.
A Bit About Me
My early years at the piano were a study in solitude, defined more by repetition than by expression. I felt something was missing, but I couldn't name it. It took me years to realize the missing piece wasn't a better technique, but a bridge — a connection between the notes on the page and the joy of creation, between the individual player and a community of listeners.
That realization became my compass. Everything I create — whether it's a game that turns everyday objects into instruments, or a workshop where we listen to the music of a city park — is an attempt to build that bridge for others. I'm not just designing tools or experiences; I'm designing on-ramps to the creative confidence I once longed for.