IADT Projects Shortlisted for IDI Industry Awards
This is a showcase of the Institute’s commitment to experimental interdisciplinary research, community-focused programmes, public digital ecosystems and forward-thinking design education.
ReDesign
ReDesign emerged from IADT’s third-year Professional Studio module. It aimed to address students who often feel intimidated by what they call the “scary industry.” This module challenged students to identify and solve this real industry problem.
Through a student-led research project exploring the disconnect between education and professional practice, fourteen students identified that traditional networking events felt formal and inaccessible. Working with industry professional Danielle O’Connell, they designed and executed their own comprehensive networking event in IADT’s new Digital Media Building, connecting 90+ participants with 30+ professionals from leading Irish agencies including BOUNCE, Wove, Good as Gold, and Deloitte Digital.
Students managed real budgets, negotiated with vendors, organised and programmed speakers, managed tickets, and created an innovative mentorship lottery generating ongoing industry connections. Most importantly, the initiative empowered students to become industry contributors rather than passive observers. This project demonstrates IADT’s commitment to authentic, student-led learning that positions students as strategic thinkers.
MythCloud
MythCloud is curated, edited, designed and built by design researchers Gerard Fox, Rory Bradley and Joe Phelan in IADT’s Design department. It is an open educational platform; a collaborative public repository and augmented research assistant exploring the enduring power of shared stories. A key output of the three year pan-European ‘Digital Mythologies’ Erasmus+ consortium led by Aalto University, this open digital platform functions as both a living archive and experimental research tool, featuring inputs from over 135 students and 20 faculty from five European nations across three years of international collaboration.
The platform comprises two integrated tools: The Compendium, a digital cabinet of curiosities, captures an eclectic collection of nearly 200 evolving cultural narratives spanning scholarly inquiry, broadcast culture, editorial voices, and digital conversation, framing everyday stories as the modern myths shaping our world. Its visually rich, tiled interface and filtered search function enables intuitive discovery across diverse content, from folklore and academic papers to contemporary design and internet memes. The platform’s bespoke augmented research assistant, AI.SOP, was built on a carefully compiled body of over 200 open-access academic papers spanning mythology, narrative theory, cultural studies, and design research. Unlike generalist AI tools, AI.SOP prioritizes transparency through citations and source links, serving as both a trustworthy research companion and a pedagogical experiment in critical, ethical AI engagement. A public submission form completes the design, transforming MythCloud into a community-driven story-catcher that grows with its audience.
Both projects reflect IADT’s vision of design education as a speculative but pragmatic practice that bridges critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and real-world impact.