Monash next gen designers win four Good Design Awards

Monash Art Design and Architecture (MADA) celebrates four impressive wins by recent Monash Design alumni at the Australian Good Design Awards this year spanning protecting Australia's endangered wildlife, creative menstrual education, inclusive campus navigation and collaborative learning reflecting the breadth of Monash's alumni and student talent.

Best in Class Award: Next gen win for wildlife conservation

Bachelor of Industrial Design alum Xavier Earls won the Best in Class Award in the Next Gen category (designers under 30) for Bush Cradle, a modular wildlife habitat system.

Australia has the highest rate of terrestrial mammal extinction, and Xavier's final-year project targets a key driver: the loss of tree hollows and fallen logs. Bush Cradle replaces generic nest boxes with a reconfigurable kit-of-parts habitat system made of hempcrete tiles, made using 3D printing and casting techniques he refined at his internship with Reef Design Lab.

“The Jury recognises Bush Cradle as a genuinely clever and well-executed conservation tool …The overnight trail camera footage of ringtail possums sheltering in the prototype provides compelling proof of the system's real-world viability and impact.”

Xavier now works full time at Reef Design Lab, extending his habitat design to marine environments.

“It was so rewarding seeing the project interact with wildlife - bridging the gap between concept and intervention. Design thinking is necessary for the global conservation effort and I hope this accolade can help inspire practitioners to apply their talents to the broader environment,” says Earls.

Gold Award: Playful menstrual education for children

Bachelor of Communication Design alum Lucy Corcoran secured a Gold award in the Next Gen (designers under 30) category for FLOJO, a children’s board game advocating for early, comprehensive, and inclusive menstruation education for children aged 8–12.

Developed during her studies at Monash, FLOJO reimagines the menstrual cycle as an engaging journey, using storytelling and playful mechanics to make complex concepts accessible. Inspired by how easily childhood lessons like the water cycle are remembered, Lucy wanted terminology like “luteal phase” to feel just as familiar and fun. Consulting closely with sexual health educator Vanessa Hamilton, she focused on inclusive language, empathy-building, and age-appropriate content. Period cramps became forest monsters, mood swings turned into storms, and learning unfolded through play, resulting in a portable, transportable educational tool designed with guides for classrooms and homes.

The project’s impact extended well beyond the studio, earning a shortlisting for the Victorian Premier’s Design Awards prior to her graduation.

“The Jury recognises FLOJO as a … well-researched response to a critical gap in menstruation education…validated by comprehensive research showing over 90% of survey respondents lacked foundational understanding of the menstrual cycle. The child-centred design thinking demonstrates sophistication, with typography, colour, legibility and game mechanics carefully calibrated to children's developmental capabilities...”

"When you care deeply about something, it becomes more than just an assignment," says Corcoran. “ Winning a Good Design Award Gold for FLOJO validates the power of using play to tackle taboo topics, and I hope it opens up comfortable, empowering conversations for young people and their families."

Concept Design Award for MONA campus navigation

Chenxi Mao, a Monash University Master of Design alum, has won the Concept Design award for MONA, an AI- and AR-supported campus navigation concept designed to replace fragmented, one-size-fits-all wayfinding with guidance tailored to each user as they move through unfamiliar campus environments.

“The Jury recognises MONA as a thoughtful and empathetic response to an underserved challenge in campus navigation, particularly for students experiencing spatial, sensory or social difficulties. The focus on cognitive and emotional accessibility demonstrates real consideration for user needs around belonging and confidence.”

Mao says "MONA grew from asking how campus navigation could support more than getting from A to B. I wanted an experience that feels calm and predictable, helping people move through unfamiliar campuses with confidence, independence and belonging. This recognition is meaningful as it affirms the value of inclusive design in everyday campus life."

Concept Design Award for NoMi XR Learning system

Monash Master of Design alumni Chenxi Mao, Tianshu Yuan, and Yueru Liu have won a Concept Design Award for NoMi, an innovative extended reality (XR) collaborative learning system designed to transform educational environments. The project explores how immersive, multi-user digital spaces can enhance teamwork, engagement, and hands-on learning across disciplines.

“The Jury recognises NoMi as a thoughtfully developed XR learning system built on a genuinely important insight: breakdowns in collaborative learning are relational, not informational. The private, non-verbal haptic ring ... represents one of the most insightful design decisions, understanding that some students need a voice that does not require a voice. The system's coherent architecture ... shows strong design rigour and research-informed iteration.”

Mao, Yuan and Liu say:
"As international students, we knew firsthand how daunting it can be to speak up and find your place in group projects. With NoMi, we wanted to look past traditional learning tools and focus on how students actually feel working together. Our aim was to create an encouraging, inclusive space where everyone can contribute in a way that feels comfortable and empowering for them."

Next generation design driving real world impact

"These graduate projects address diverse challenges, from health education, to accessibility, collaborative learning and conservation, yet each demonstrates the incredible vision and empathy of our students,” says Professor Gene Bawden, Head of the Department of Design, Monash Art, Design and Architecture. “It’s inspiring to see Monash’s next generation using solution-driven design approaches to create real, lasting impact.”

Read about our Monash designers who won five Good Design Awards.