By Vivian Kim
Building on a series of international design triumphs, Chuoer (Ivana) Liang – the award-winning product and user experience designer behind acclaimed projects like Easel and Furco – is embarking on the next chapter of her creative journey. Liang is joining Dawn Kitchen & Bath Products, Inc. as Lead Product Designer, where she will lead the development of SmartFlow — a new smart water conservation system that integrates sensor-enabled faucets with an AI-powered dashboard to monitor, optimize, and reduce residential water usage. In this role, she will oversee SmartFlow’s UX strategy, product interface design, and inclusive accessibility across the platform, ensuring the solution is as user-friendly as it is innovative. At Dawn, Liang brings her deep expertise in human-centered design to a company renowned for fusing elegant aesthetics with everyday functionality.
Dawn’s SmartFlow integrates sensor-enabled faucets with AI-driven monitoring to make home water use more sustainable and efficient. SmartFlow exemplifies Dawn’s commitment to combining elegant design with sustainable living. Its sensor-enabled faucets will track water usage in real time throughout the home, feeding data into an intelligent dashboard that provides homeowners with personalized insights to help curb waste. By detecting leaks or unusually high consumption, SmartFlow can alert users instantly and suggest water-saving adjustments tailored to their routines. The aim is to make managing water as intuitive as any other smart-home feature—blending modern convenience with meaningful conservation. This approach aligns with broader trends in home technology: innovation in sensors and artificial intelligence is making household water systems greener and more efficient, and studies show thoughtfully designed “smart” faucets can nudge people toward more water-conscious habits.
Speaking about her new role, Liang said: “I’m thrilled to join Dawn in bringing SmartFlow to life. It’s a chance to merge human-centered design with sustainable innovation in a way that genuinely improves everyday life. We want to show that conserving water at home can be intuitive and even inspiring – when technology is designed around people’s needs and values, sustainability becomes second nature.”
Liang joins Dawn with a distinguished track record of innovation. In the past year alone, her work has earned Gold and Silver honors across prestigious international competitions, including the MUSE Design Awards, NYX Awards, London Design Awards, and the Better Future Design Awards. She co-created award-winning apps like Easel – an augmented reality museum exploration platform – and Furco – an AI-powered pet parenting assistant – which showcased her talent for blending cutting-edge technology with everyday life. These successes have cemented Liang’s reputation as a designer who marries creative vision with real-world impact.
Beyond her passion projects, Liang has also made her mark in the e-commerce industry. At Inmar Intelligence, she led the design of digital shopping solutions that have facilitated over $100 million in retail transactions, streamlining how consumers discover and save on products. Equally notable is Liang’s commitment to inclusive design: in her previous roles she championed accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1 from the very start of each project, implementing features such as dark-mode interfaces, optimized contrast ratios, screen-reader compatibility, and multilingual support. By designing for accessibility, she ensures the products are usable by as many people as possible – a principle that not only benefits users with disabilities but also improves the user experience for everyone.
Dawn Kitchen & Bath Products, Inc., headquartered in California, has over 25 years of experience in the kitchen and bath industry. Known for its high-quality stainless steel sinks, smart faucets, and kitchen & bath accessories, Dawn prides itself on a harmonious blend of pragmatism and elegance in its designs. The company considers the kitchen and bathroom the “soul of a home,” bringing together function and aesthetics to make these spaces comfortable and enjoyable. Dawn has been a fixture at the annual Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) since 2008, often earning accolades for its innovative showcases and products. KBIS is recognized as North America’s largest trade show dedicated to kitchen and bath design, attracting top designers, manufacturers, and industry professionals from around the world. The show has served as the premier launchpad for major product debuts, with past exhibitors including household names such as Kohler, Delta Faucet, Moen, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Whirlpool, Miele, and CopperSmith. Dawn’s long-standing presence at KBIS underscores its standing among the industry’s most respected brands and highlights its role in shaping the future of home innovation. With the launch of SmartFlow, Dawn is extending its legacy of marrying practicality with beauty into the realm of sustainable smart-home technology.
As Liang steps into her role at Dawn, both she and the company are poised to redefine how households interact with water. By uniting Liang’s award-winning design vision with Dawn’s expertise in home fixtures, SmartFlow has the potential to transform the simple act of turning on the tap into an opportunity for positive change – making sustainable living an elegant, effortless part of everyday life.