MCD Community
Achaar: A showcase of South Asian Design, Typography and Cultural Identity
Drawing from the rich tradition of South Asian pickles — "Achaar," an intricate blend of vegetables, fruits, and spices — this exhibition, through design, typography, and artistic expression, reflects unique narratives, embodying the diverse identities of our South Asian heritage. This is "who we are and where we’re from."
A collaborative project by Darshini Penmetsa, Dilushi Prasanna, George Thomas, Ishaan Ambavane, Jarred Labrooy, Kaushik Prabhu, Shruti Shah, Sonali Mirpuri, Soundarya Chandrashekhar, Tanisha Maria Naik, and Zaib Shaheen.
A collaborative project by Darshini Penmetsa, Dilushi Prasanna, George Thomas, Ishaan Ambavane, Jarred Labrooy, Kaushik Prabhu, Shruti Shah, Sonali Mirpuri, Soundarya Chandrashekhar, Tanisha Maria Naik, and Zaib Shaheen.
+Typography +South Asian Design +Culture
Yarra Riverkeeper
Communication Design for Social Change (GRAP2563) took part in the inaugural Birrarung Riverfest in September 2024.
+Design for Social Change
EcoQuest: Melbourne EcoQuest Melbourne is an interactive tabletop game designed to raise awareness about sustainability through fun and meaningful gameplay. Players explore local species, landmarks, and community initiatives while learning about actions that support the Sustainable Development Goals. The game encourages strategic thinking, collaboration, and environmental responsibility in a playful way.
+Service Design + Deisgn for Social Change
Alumni Initiatives
Counter Forms
Alumna Thy Hà was one of four contributors to to Counter Forms at the NGV Art Book Fair in May 2023+Type Design +Typography
ahahahart Chinese Art Club
Alumni Caesar Li, Zhen Xiong and Evelyn Han founded the ahahahart! in collaboration with Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in May 2023+Art +Bilingual Design
FEATURE
Focusing on their recent work entitled Talking Through, Ryley Lawson and Hope Lumsden-Barry explores ways of working and relating in the face of precarity and uncertainty.
MESOSCALE
DISCUSSIONS
Our ever-growing community aspires to cross-pollinate and promote the extraordinarily broad spectrum of practices by our current students and alumni coming from culturally rich & diverse backgrounds. Regular Mesoscale Discussions provide an opportunity for alumni to share insights from their practice.
Mesoscale Discussion Series #14
Birrarung: Adventures in Social Design Praxis invites people into the experimental, boundary-pushing world of social design.
Developed in collaboration with the Yarra Riverkeeper Association, it features twelve student projects, from the new RMIT MA elective course Communication Design for Social Change, led by Dr Oliver Vodeb.
The book explores how design can engage communities, rivers, and multispecies ecologies in meaningful, transformative ways—a celebration of curiosity, collaboration, and radical imagination, where what’s good for the river is good for all.
Developed in collaboration with the Yarra Riverkeeper Association, it features twelve student projects, from the new RMIT MA elective course Communication Design for Social Change, led by Dr Oliver Vodeb.
The book explores how design can engage communities, rivers, and multispecies ecologies in meaningful, transformative ways—a celebration of curiosity, collaboration, and radical imagination, where what’s good for the river is good for all.
Keywords: Book Launch, Social Design
Mesoscale Discussion Series #15
Typography: from no rules…to some rules.
Chi Paton-Dowling is a Naarm / Melbourne-based brand and type designer focusing on identity systems with a strong typographic presence.
Chi didn't set out to become a type designer. She avoided typography altogether. This talk follows her shift from that avoidance to fully embracing type: experimenting with non-conventional tools during her MCD studies, learning the craft, joining Counter Forms and now designing typefaces and teaching the next generation of designers at Monash and RMIT. Her work has seen her collaborate with well known studios and designers to produce custom typefaces for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian retailers, galleries and most recently the Art Gallery of South Australia's 2026 Biennale.
Chi Paton-Dowling is a Naarm / Melbourne-based brand and type designer focusing on identity systems with a strong typographic presence.
Chi didn't set out to become a type designer. She avoided typography altogether. This talk follows her shift from that avoidance to fully embracing type: experimenting with non-conventional tools during her MCD studies, learning the craft, joining Counter Forms and now designing typefaces and teaching the next generation of designers at Monash and RMIT. Her work has seen her collaborate with well known studios and designers to produce custom typefaces for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian retailers, galleries and most recently the Art Gallery of South Australia's 2026 Biennale.
Keywords: Type Design, Typography
Mesoscale Discussion Series #11
Mahesh Bhat is a Bangalore based photographer, filmmaker, independent publisher, educator and Open Natural Ecosystem conservationist.
He is a professor at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bengaluru, India, where he teaches courses in photography, and how designers can be new world makers.
He has been photographing the life and times of India for the last 40 years. His work lies in the intersection of society, culture, economics, politics and environment
He is a professor at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Bengaluru, India, where he teaches courses in photography, and how designers can be new world makers.
He has been photographing the life and times of India for the last 40 years. His work lies in the intersection of society, culture, economics, politics and environment
Keywords: Typography, Cultural design
Mesoscale Discussion Series #12
Anaïs Lobmeyer is a French designer, art director, illustrator, and educator based in Naarm/Melbourne. From stage direction to visual communications, in-house roles to design agencies, she tried it all before going out on her own with her studio Release The Zebra. She'll share the lessons, habits and mindset shifts that made the difference, and how to build a freelance practice that genuinely works for you.
Keywords: Design Career advice
Mesoscale Discussion Series #13
Aalphabet is a conceptual typeface that traverses literature and painting in pursuit of fiction. As the typographic corollary to a series of paintings that explored the processes of self-narrativisation, Aalphabet emerged from the movement between text and image within Aaron Perkins’ text-based artistic practice.
The seminar discusses the conceptual and material transference between painted form and written word in the creation of Aalphabet.
Keywords: Typography
Mesoscale Discussion Series #08
"So you want to be a Designer?
What Uni Doesn't Teach You About the Real World" - Dylan Martyn
Designing in big organisations, building your career, and surviving your first stakeholder meeting.
What's it actually like to be a designer inside a large organisation like a bank? In this session, I'll share real-world stories from the design trenches-and practical advice to help you get career-ready, communicate like a pro, and land your first role (without selling your soul to Canva)
What Uni Doesn't Teach You About the Real World" - Dylan Martyn
Designing in big organisations, building your career, and surviving your first stakeholder meeting.
What's it actually like to be a designer inside a large organisation like a bank? In this session, I'll share real-world stories from the design trenches-and practical advice to help you get career-ready, communicate like a pro, and land your first role (without selling your soul to Canva)
Keywords: Design Career advice
Mesoscale Discussion Series #09
Storytelling through typography and embroidery - Safa el Samad
Safa el Samad discusses her relationship with her Lebanese heritage and culture, and how this has informed how she uses typography and embroidery as a method of storytelling.
Keywords: Typography, Cultural design
Mesoscale Discussion Series #10
Publishing Politics - Zenobia Ahmed
Keywords:
Mesoscale Discussion Series #05
The Future of Experience Design in
Museums - Lucie Paterson
Keywords: UX Design, Exhibition Design
Mesoscale Discussion Series #06
The Wellbeing Protocol.
- Benjamin Alder
- Benjamin Alder
Keywords: Social Design, Entrepreneurship
Mesoscale Discussion Series #07
Graphic Heritage Repositioned
- Robert Harland
- Robert Harland
Keywords: Graphic Design Heritage, Urban Heritage
Mesoscale Discussion Series #02
RMIT alumna Lucy Serret shared ger passion for inclusive design and how it informs her current role as Head of User Experience Design at BindiMaps.
Keywords: UX Design, Inclusive Design
Mesoscale Discussion Series #03
Haocheng Zhang’s practice combines experimental typography and choreography, bringing new meanings to body type and exploring cross-cultural performance.
Keywords: Experimental Typography, Choreography, Cross-Cultural Performance
Mesoscale Discussion Series #04
MCD alumna Lo Wei is a graphic designer with creative agency Projects of Imagination and continues to explore Chinese heritage and contemporary culture in Australia.
Keywords: Chinese Heritage, Contemporary Culture