AI for inclusion: SyncComm AI secures double gold  at NY Product Design and MUSE Design Awards

Opinions expressed by Digital Journal contributors are their own.

The 2026 New York Product Design Awards and MUSE Design Awards have unveiled their official winners. Developed and led by senior UX product designer Fang He, SyncComm AI has claimed two Gold  accolades: one in the AI-Personalized UX category of the New York Product Design Awards, and another in the Conceptual Design – Artificial Intelligence category of the MUSE Design Awards. Regarded as a standout entry focused on workplace inclusive design, the platform has once again brought the social challenges faced by neurodiverse professionals to the forefront of industry attention.

As benchmark events in the global design landscape, the New York Product Design Awards and MUSE Design Awards evaluate entries based on innovative value, social significance and design craftsmanship. SyncComm AI’s double Gold  recognition not only affirms its outstanding product design caliber, but also marks a landmark breakthrough for AI technology in integrating human-centric care with workplace empowerment. This milestone achievement stems from Fang He’s decades of professional expertise in the design industry and his  enduring commitment to leveraging technology for social good.

In modern workplaces, neurodiverse professionals, including those with autism and ADHD, face pervasive invisible social barriers. Around 90% of neurodiverse employees mask their natural traits to conform to neurotypical social norms. Such masking doubles their risk of professional burnout, while the global unemployment rate among autistic adults remains as high as 85%. Addressing this pressing reality stands as the core motivation behind Fang He’s creation of SyncComm AI, endowing the platform with a fundamental mission to resolve genuine pain points in the workplace.

Breaking away from the traditional AI mindset that prioritizes efficiency above all else, SyncComm AI centers on empathy over productivity and proactivity over automation. It pioneers the concept of social assistive executive function, building a full-spectrum solution covering real-time social decoding, interactive guidance, scenario simulation and privacy protection. The platform effectively bridges the dual empathy gap between neurodiverse and neurotypical groups.

Its pioneering strengths are embodied across core functions. The real-time decoding feature interprets workplace sarcasm, idioms and implicit communication into plain language, helping neurodiverse users avoid missing key contextual cues. The meeting assistance tool delivers 60-second conversation summaries and live social interpretation to keep users engaged in discussions. The scenario simulation mode acts as a social simulator, allowing users to role-play high-pressure situations such as salary negotiations and job interviews in a judgment-free environment to build social confidence. Adopting a zero-trust privacy framework and edge AI technology, the platform processes all biometric and sensitive data locally on devices, fully complying with HIPAA and GDPR regulations to balance technological empowerment with robust user privacy safeguards.

Beyond offering neurodiverse talent a pathway to seamless workplace integration, SyncComm AI fuels systematic transformation of corporate workplace culture. Backed by solid research data, it estimates  that supported neurodiverse teams can achieve 30% to 140% higher productivity than conventional teams, dismantling the stereotype that neurodiversity equates to lower work efficiency. The platform also fills a global market void for AI tools dedicated to workplace inclusion.

SyncComm AI’s groundbreaking innovation is no coincidence, but a refined fusion of Fang He’s decades of design experience and humanistic vision. A seasoned Silicon Valley UX design leader, Fang He holds a Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech and is a certified UX professional by the Nielsen Norman Group. He  has held key design roles at top global firms including Visa and Roku, leading large-scale initiatives such as enterprise CMS architecture and complex financial ecosystem design. His  extensive background equips him  with solid technical execution capability and a keen insight into the unmet needs of underrepresented groups.

Throughout the development of SyncComm AI, Fang He led the entire process from user research to product iteration, embedding deep empathy and insight into every design detail. Rejecting one-size-fits-all design logic, he  established a personalized adaptation principle, enabling users to flexibly adjust AI assistance intensity based on personal energy levels and workplace environments to deliver truly human-centered design. He  integrated human-computer interaction theories with real workplace scenarios, developing tactile prompts, emotional regulation and tone optimization features tailored to neurodiverse cognitive patterns, making complex social rules interpretable, learnable and manageable. Upholding strict ethical standards, he  advocates  the application of edge AI in this field, breaking the industry misconception that AI empowerment must come at the cost of user privacy, and achieving perfect harmony between technological advancement and data protection.

While spearheading the development of SyncComm AI, Fang He currently serves as Senior UX Product Designer at Roku, where he  oversees enterprise-level CMS architecture. His  work supports massive content distribution to millions of global users and drives the platform’s international monetization strategy. His  rare ability to balance corporate leadership with independent innovative thinking enables him  to accurately align technical feasibility with user demands, equipping SyncComm AI with both cutting-edge technological value and strong real-world implementability, and ultimately realizing the vision of technology empowering humanity.

Fang He’s influence extends far beyond individual product creation, enriching the value orientation across global design circles . His  portfolio has earned numerous international design honors, and his philosophy of technology for good has profoundly inspired design practitioners worldwide.

As a jury member of the Indigo Design Award, he  has integrated inclusive design and human-centric values into global design evaluation criteria, steering the industry away from a narrow focus on aesthetics and efficiency toward a more balanced framework that embraces diverse needs. His  academic accomplishments and industry practice set a clear benchmark for emerging designers: true design excellence lies in merging technical sophistication with social purpose, making technology accessible and beneficial to all.

Moving forward, Fang He will continue to deepen his  design practice, drive inclusive workplace transformation through his  industry influence, and bring profound humanistic depth to the future development of global AI design.