XYX Lab now offering internships

Monash Art Design and Architecture’s (MADA) XYX Lab now offers MADA students of both undergraduate and postgraduate the chance to complete an internship with their team. The XYX Lab is a team of experienced design researchers that explore gender-sensitive design practices and theory.

This internship unit, a new option for master’s students, enabled Chang Huang to complete an internship with XYX Lab as part of her final year of a Master of Design.

“[XYX Lab is a] codesigning organisation and their main focus is around urban design, gender dynamics and gender safety in urban experiences; focusing on our cities infrastructure and public spaces” Chang said.

Based around collaborative projects, the XYX Lab focuses on the experiences of women and gender diverse people.

Chang completed her undergrad in spatial design in Auckland, focusing on interior design. She is now doing the Master of Design at Monash, with a specialisation in Collaborative Design, and took the XYX Lab internship as an elective unit.

“I really wanted to engage in industry experience while I’m studying in Melbourne,” she said.

“The team is super lovely, it feels like a safe environment. It was a very constructive experience being able to sit in and see how project meetings work.”

Chang was able to work on various projects with the XYX Lab as a design assistant.

One of the projects Chang was able to take part in as part of the internship was a collaboration with The Social Studio in Collingwood. A fashion design organisation, The Social Studio runs exhibitions and workshops with the wider public. The project Chang took part in was about engaging with their designers and artist network and designing an exhibition with works from these various workshops.

Another project was the Consenting Cities exhibition and workshop as part of Melbourne Design Week. Showing in May 2023 for Melbourne Design Week, this exhibition ran simultaneously in Venice as part of the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

“[Consenting Cites] was an artwork that was based around Augmented Reality, with the data showcasing safety issues within certain urban environments,” Chang Said.

Towards the end of the internship, students put together a report summarising their experiences and projects they’ve undertaken with a focus on how these relate to wider practices as well as personal experiences.

Chang’s advice for current and future students considering interning with XYX Lab is to be open minded.

“I went into this without any expectations on what particular specialisation of design I was going to be practising skills in…[and] a willingness to be able to engage in a wider design network,” she said.

“I’m really glad I [was open minded], because now it's been a range of graphic design and spatial design skills, and experiential design skills. It was a very eye-opening way to experience design from a more collaborative perspective. With the opportunity to work on real-world projects that seek to implement meaningful, long-term change in our built environments.”