INTERACT Category Winner:

Monash University XYX Lab for HyperSext City

For the Design Institute of Australia, design is a continually evolving subject explored through people, collaborations, programme, learning and research activities. The Jury felt that the HyperSext City investigation and exhibition intervened to encourage and empower people to comprehend and imagine complex issues together.

Monash University XYX Lab used design as an intersecting mediator, educational and collaborative tool giving voice to all community members. The HyperSext City exhibition raised awareness whilst investigating the conditions of urban spatial inequity that limits the participation of women, girls and LBGTQI+ identities in our cities due to fear of violence and assault.

Through crowd sourcing, co-creation and material making, HyperSext City amplifies the voices and experiences of a diverse range of people who are frequently rendered powerless and invites the user to make a difference by sharing and understanding the urban experience.

HyperSext City develops an experience, communication, and interaction that addresses the intersection of space, gender, and identity; the Jury was interested in how they worked together, as much as what they produced.

Through evidence-based research and lived experiences, the ideas aim to champion and amplify multiple voices. They are about expressions of diversity, with the ultimate plan to making the environment safer.

The HyperSext HyperGraphic installation signifies stories, statistics and data representing the voice of diverse communities. The overscaled black and orange information graphic dramatically confront the audience with startling statistics. Simultaneously, the room-size scale of the hyper graphic ensures visitors see themselves as part of the data.

The DIA supports vibrant and relevant learning programmes connected with the broader ecology of design practice, networks and communities. Facilitating strong crossdisciplinary collaboration through partnerships and society indisputably encourages design debate and access to vital information. Monash University XYX Lab has been honoured for its stand out interdisciplinary approaches to design practice and its ability to navigate complicated and multifaceted issues.

Category: Interact

Designers: Dr Nicole Kalms, Dr Gene Bawden, Jess Berry, Isabella Webb, Gill Matthewson, Timothy Moore