When interns join Adobe Research for the summer, they dive into research at the intersection of Adobe’s products and their graduate studies. Their work inspires innovative Adobe product features and top-tier academic publications. And every so often, an intern is selected to present their work in front of thousands of Adobe customers at the annual Adobe Summit conference.
Former intern and current Adobe Research Scientist Tongyu Zhou achieved all of these feats back in 2024. And this year one of Zhou’s very first interns, Yuzhe You, has followed in her impressive footsteps, and even raised the bar set by her mentor.
How Tongyu Zhou set the bar for an amazing Adobe Research internship
Zhou first joined Adobe Research as an intern in the summer of 2022 with a passion for illustration and technology. Working with her mentor, Research Scientist Gromit Chan, she tackled a problem: images are usually static, which means that designs with infographics can quickly become outdated. Zhou developed technology that draws on Adobe Firefly’s generative AI to help users create impactful infographics using text prompts and datasets, and then keeps the design connected to its data source for constant updates.
Zhou co-wrote a paper about the research for the ACM CHI conference and she pitched her project as an Adobe Summit Sneak. Sneaks, demos of cutting-edge technology-in-development, are a crowd favorite at Adobe Summit every spring. Before she knew it, Zhou was on stage, wowing the audience with her demo of Project Infograph It.
Zhou’s internship experience gave her a sense of what it’s like to contribute to real-world products that impact millions of users. That nudged her toward a career in industry after she finished her PhD. She joined Adobe Research full-time in 2025 and is now working on the technology she launched as an intern. She’s also just begun mentoring her own interns, including Yuzhe You.
Yuzhe You follows Zhou’s lead and makes her own mark
Like Zhou, You came to her Adobe Research internship with a love of design and technology, so the two were a powerful pair. You’s PhD research at the University of Waterloo focuses on helping people collaborate better with AI. She worked with Zhou to plan a project that focused on workflow challenges for designers using generative AI.
They began by talking to designers. “We noticed that designers usually explore lots of different directions, choose one, and then focus on subtle, low-level changes. But existing AI tools are developed from a programmer’s point of view. You type a prompt, hit generate, wait, and then see a result,” explains Zhou.
“Instead, we wanted to develop a smart agent that becomes a collaborative partner. We wanted it to dynamically adjust a generated design depending on the taste of the designers, their intent, and the creative stage they’re in.”
So You developed an AI agent-supported tool that lets users enter a text prompt, reference images, and their own sketches to guide a design. The tool then allows them to generate variations based on different factors, like composition and art style, refining as they go.
“Yuzhe’s and Tongyu’s passion for design and technology was apparent in both the project discussions and technical demonstrations throughout the work on this project,” says Adobe Research Principal Scientist Eunyee Koh, who provided insight and support during the internship. “Their choice of design examples and styles reflected their artistic taste, and the technology and interactions were thoughtfully created to meet designers’ needs.”
When You tested the tool with designers, they reported that the workflow felt more iterative and streamlined. Because the tool built a mental map of the directions the designers had tried, it was easier to explore in lots of directions. And since designers didn’t have to translate their ideas into text, they could explore different dimensions, like color and design style, in a way that aligned with their creative process.
“One powerful feature of the project is that human users keep guiding the AI to look for things outside its mental model,” explains Chan, who helped guide the project as ‘grand-mentor.’ “I think this is a pathway for reaching the ultimate alignment between users’ expertise and AI’s capabilities. And I think that’s the kind of thing we want to bring to Adobe’s users.”
The Summit stage
With a prototype in hand, Zhou encouraged You to submit the work as a potential Summit Sneak, just as she’d done with Project Infograph It. There were more than 500 submissions across Adobe, vying for only seven spots, so You was shocked and delighted when her research was selected as a Sneak, and she was selected as the only intern presenter for 2026.
From there, she collaborated with Adobe designers and the Summit 2026 team to transform her prototype into Project Test Kitchen, a polished demo with the look and feel of an Adobe product. Zhou and Chan, who are both experienced Sneak presenters, were on hand to help You create a fun and appealing Sneak presentation for a general audience.
In addition to the Sneak, You co-authored a paper based on her research that will be published at the prestigious ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) this fall. And Zhou and You are actively collaborating with product teams about bringing the technology from Project Test Kitchen into Adobe products.
Shaping the future of AI and creativity at Adobe
Zhou and You’s research is helping to define the future of AI tools inside Adobe products. “What they’re working on lets users make better things on top of AI-generated artwork, things that are very genuine and well crafted,” explains Chan.
Koh adds, “Yuzhe worked with so many great colleagues across Adobe along the way from her intern project to a Sneaks presentation and eventually to product iterations. Throughout the journey, I witnessed her genuine excitement and dedication. Her energy and enthusiasm were truly contagious.”
Looking to take your research further? An Adobe Research internship offers the chance to work alongside world-class scientists and see your ideas influence real products. Applications for 2027 internships will open in the fall. Watch this space for updates!
Wondering what else is happening in Adobe Research? Check out our latest news here.
