Achievements | Harshita Prakash

My achievements reflect a commitment to service design, user experience design, and creating work that genuinely supports people and communities. I approach every project with curiosity and care, focusing on how design supported by emerging technologies like AI can make complex systems clearer, safer, and more human.

In every team and project, I encourage moving beyond the idea of a university project and instead create outcomes with real world value, clear logic, and emotional resonance. These achievements represent collaborative work with clinicians, researchers, and multidisciplinary teams, as well as moments where thoughtful design created meaningful impact. Each project has helped me grow as a designer and strengthened my belief that good design is created through empathy, evidence, and creativity working together.

Design Award - MDIT

It was I received the Design Award for the Master of Design Innovation and Technology programme at RMIT University, an award that recognises overall excellence across the entire masters. It reflects consistent design practice, innovative thinking and strong communication throughout the course, with particular recognition for the depth and clarity demonstrated in my final project.

I received the Design Award for the Master of Design Innovation and Technology programme at RMIT University, recognising overall excellence across the entire degree. This award reflects my commitment to rigorous design practice, critical thinking and clear communication throughout my masters, with particular distinction in my final project. It also strengthened my confidence in navigating complex systems and designing with purpose. If someone from any future team reads this, I hope it shows the dedication, curiosity and resilience I bring to every project.

Speaker - SXSW Sydney

It was an incredible experience sharing our project GestureSync at SXSW Sydney along with my amazing teammate Sharmishtha (Sammy) Sen . I talked about how gestures and body language made virtual interactions feel more human and emotionally connected.

Coming from a user experience design background, my work always began with people and with understanding how and why we react. GestureSync grew from one simple question:

How could technology help us build empathy?

European Conference

Presentation

📄 Read it here:Emotional-Driven Gameplay: Exploring Gesture-Based Interactions in XR Environments | European Conference on Games Based Learning

In my talk, I shared how we explored emotional responses in VR through motion capture and immersive design. We tested how simple gestures could evoke trust, fear, comfort, or connection without using words. I also spoke about our vision for the future, where AI driven emotional recognition helps build a society grounded in emotional intelligence, inclusivity, and communication that feels genuinely human.

Our research paper on Gesture Sync was also featured at the 19th European Conference on Games Based Learning. It felt meaningful to see this work recognised both in research and in practice

During early testing, I created multiple simulated human characters to explore how different bodies and identities might influence emotional responses. Through this process, we realised the importance of inclusive design. We decided to use one character only, choosing a neutral figure inspired by the Zoozoo style. This allowed us to avoid assumptions about gender and to question whether reactions would change if the avatar appeared male or female. Keeping the character universal ensured that the emotional responses we studied were about the gesture itself, not the identity of the avatar.

Melbourne design week

White Sea explores the intersection of art, technology, and environmental conservation with a focus on the Great Barrier Reef. I led the AI and data modelling for the project, using tools such as Tableau, MidJourney, and ChatGPT 4 to analyse datasets from data dot gov dot au and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

The final work is a dynamic, multi-sensory installation that highlights how climate change and human activity shape marine ecosystems. Through a narrative centred on multispecies collaboration, ecological resilience, and restoration, the project encourages empathy and inspires actionable steps toward reef conservation.

White Sea was selected for the Generative AI in Design Education Toolkit, developed by Kate Geck and Professor Emma Luke PhD at RMIT University, supported by the Alastair Swayn Foundation Design Thinking Grant.
My contribution focused on the AI driven research and data visualisation that informed the toolkit’s case studies on design and technology integration.

Explore the full research report and toolkit where White Sea is featured.

RMIT Activater

Empower Birth is a maternity care innovation I led and co designed to strengthen communication, support shared decision making, and embed trauma informed care for mothers and clinicians. First conceptualised for The Royal Women’s Hospital, the project introduces a Dynamic Digital Birth Plan designed for integration with major clinical platforms such as Health Hub, Epic, and Oracle.

The system focuses on reducing birth trauma, improving clarity during critical moments, and creating a safer, more empowering decision making experience throughout labour.

This included shaping the end to end experience, structuring the Dynamic Digital Birth Plan, and creating the visual decision support tools.
My approach combined service design, UI UX, and design thinking methodologies to ensure the solution is clinically effective while remaining deeply empathetic to the emotional needs of mothers.

The concept has been validated by clinical experts . The Royal Women’s Hospital is currently exploring funding pathways to test the Birth plan .

This work was made possible through a deep co design process with:
Project mentor Dr Stefan Kane (Director of Maternity Services, MBBS, BA, BMedSc, FRANZCOG, CMFM, DDU),
Dr Julia Unterscheider (MD, PhD, MRCPI, MRCOG, FRANZCOG, DDU),
and Nova Barrios (Midwifery Units Manager, Gandel Simulation Service – Acting Manager and Lead Clinical Midwifery Educator).

Their expertise and guidance were invaluable throughout development.

MYCOCOSM – Barcelona Design Week Exhibition

Showcased as part of an international collaboration across RMIT Melbourne, RMIT Vietnam, Elisava Barcelona, and UAL London.

I contributed to the MYCOCOSM project, where our team explored how mycelial networks can inspire sustainable, interconnected design systems. I led the storyboarding, speculative narrative development, and human-centred narrative arc, shaping the emotional and conceptual direction of the project. I also created the AI-generated video sequences used in the final installation.

Our work was exhibited at Barcelona Design Week, where each team was featured with its own display and QR-coded project page. Although I could not attend in person, the project was showcased to a global audience, highlighting our creative research into mycelium’s ecological intelligence and healing potential.