At the University of Colorado in Boulder, she began by working toward a major in cello. After two years of studying music, she transferred to the Architecture and Planning School, following in her father's footsteps. There are many musical influences in her architecture design works. She also obtained a minor in Japanese while at CU. After Lin graduated from the University of Colorado in 2002, she worked as an architecture intern at Stephen Sparns and Associates in Boulder, Colorado. Afterwards, she proceeded to graduate school to pursue Industrial Design, still closely related to her passion for art.

At Rochester Institute of Technology, where she obtained her industrial design MFA, she fell in love with design. "I love solving problems, making things with my hands, looking at ordinary things with a different eye,” she stated. Working with professors, David Morgan, Stan Rickel and many classmates, she found her direction in design. Through her thesis project she worked with Dave Warner, who opened her eyes to new possibilities.

During her years at RIT, Lin also worked on several projects, including consulting jobs and an international lighting design competition. Initially, she struggled with the lighting design project, as she was feeling overwhelmed and desperately needed to unwind. She ventured outside to lay the grass under the warmth of the sun. Unfortunately, however, Rochester, NY is a place where sunshine is scarce, so Diana did not get the sunlight she desperately needed. This specific experience, though, inspired her to create her award winning light, the d°light Huggable.