Interview
Weiling Gao
1 Congratulations on winning the MUSE Design Awards! Can you introduce yourself and share about what inspired you to pursue design as a career?
Hi, I’m Weilong Gao. I currently lead the design for TikTok’s subscription product, where I help millions of creators build sustainable income through their content. At the same time, I’m deeply passionate about education equity. That’s why I also co-created WisdomPlan, an AI-powered education platform that makes personalized learning free and accessible for self-learners around the world. For me, design is more than visual problem-solving—it’s a way to bridge gaps between people and opportunities. Whether it's helping creators monetize their passions or supporting students in underserved regions, I see design as a tool to create impact across both commercial and social domains. That sense of purpose is what drew me to design, and it's what continues to drive my work today.
2 What does being recognized in the MUSE Design Awards mean to you?
It’s a meaningful recognition that affirms our belief in using design to serve a broader social impact. It validates our belief that the challenges WisdomPlan aims to solve—educational inequality and accessibility—are real and worth tackling with thoughtful, user-centered design.
3 How has this achievement impacted your career, team, or agency, and what opportunities has it brought so far?
The award has helped bring visibility to WisdomPlan and opened up new conversations with educators, institutions, and technologists who are also passionate about affordable learning. It has also strengthened our confidence in continuing to invest in design that delivers long-term societal value.
4 What role does experimentation play in your creative process? Can you share an example?
Experimentation is at the heart of how WisdomPlan was built. We continuously tested how users interacted with AI-generated learning paths. Through multiple iterations, we refined the one-click study plan generation and AI tutor interface, ensuring they were intuitive and engaging—especially for self-learners unfamiliar with traditional study methods.
5 What’s one thing you wish more people understood about the design process?
Design is not just about aesthetics—it’s about solving the right problem with intention and clarity. Whether I’m designing monetization features for millions of creators on TikTok or building personalized learning experiences in WisdomPlan, every design decision—from system flow to button placement—is grounded in user behavior and accessibility. At TikTok, I’ve learned how small design details can directly influence creator income and user trust. That experience shaped my approach to WisdomPlan, where I focused on lowering the learning curve for self-learners—especially those with limited digital literacy. Good design isn’t just beautiful—it’s strategic, inclusive, and impactful.
6 How do you navigate the balance between meeting client expectations and staying true to your ideas?
Our “client,” in a sense, is the learner—so we constantly test whether our ideas make learning easier and more affordable. If a feature doesn’t serve that mission, we either improve it or remove it. Staying focused on the user allows us to make aligned, principled decisions.
7 What were the challenges you faced while working on your award-winning design, and how did you overcome them?
One challenge was simplifying the complexity of AI for everyday learners. Many users aren’t tech-savvy, so we had to ensure features like AI-generated learning paths and tutoring felt natural and non-intimidating. We addressed this by designing a clean interface, using friendly visuals, and integrating small animations to build trust and engagement.
8 What personal values or experiences do you infuse into your designs?
Empathy and equity are at the core of everything I design. With WisdomPlan, I started from a simple belief: access to quality education should not be a privilege. That principle guided every design decision—from how intuitive the platform needed to be for first-time users to how AI could offer personalized support for different learning needs. At TikTok, I work on subscription features that directly impact creators’ livelihoods. This has taught me to design with responsibility—understanding that every component I shape can influence someone’s income or growth. Whether it’s helping creators build sustainable revenue or enabling learners to take control of their education, I always aim to design with fairness, clarity, and impact in mind.
9 If you could collaborate with any designer, past or present, who would it be and why?
A professional working at the intersection of AI and education design, I believe collaboration across domains leads to more integrated, forward-thinking solutions. I’d love to work with designers who specialize in learning experience design to push WisdomPlan even further.
10 What's one question you wish people would ask you about your work, and what's your answer?
When asked, “Why is this needed when there are already so many free educational resources online?” I answer that resources alone aren’t enough—without structure, guidance, and adaptability, learners, especially self-learners, easily get lost. WisdomPlan is the missing link that turns resources into results.
