Media Design School

We're proud to be sponsoring the New Zealand Game Developers Conference (NZGDC), bringing together Aotearoa’s game developers, designers, educators, students and enthusiasts for four days of inspiration, connection and creativity.

Come along on Saturday 3rd October and pay a visit to our third year students who are showcasing their final projects, alongside countless MDS alumni.

Get your tickets here: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/events/NZGDC

It was awesome to welcome our Alumni back to campus for our Meet Our Alumni: Unvarnished event last week.

A huge thanks to Thom Darlow, Léon Bristow, Aarush David and Meagan Bach for inspiring our community with their career journeys and how they ended up doing what they do.

Also a huge thanks to Andy Blood as MC and the lecturers, past and present, who built the foundations for these Alumni to blossom into the professionals they are today.

If you want to find out more about what our students end up doing after graduating, make sure to checkout our Success Stories here: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/about/alumni

In honour of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language week) we wanted to share one of the projects that our Bachelor of Media Design Students have submitted to the Design Institute of NZ Best Awards under the Toitanga category!

Arataki is is a digital whakanoa and farewell platform that allows whānau to remember and release their loved one's digital presence. Whānau place memories in the form of photos and videos into a digital wakahuia (Māori treasure box), showcasing their immense importance and bridging the gap between the digital and physical space using taonga as a metaphor.

With results announced in October, we're wishing the best of luck to: Noah Wood, Lauren Vuetilovoni, Patrick Ng and Saige Moss for Arataki, along with all the other students who have made it to the finals!

You can find their projects and more on BestAwards.co.nz

Thanks to everyone that joined us for Open Day on Saturday.

It was great to meet all the new faces. We hope you all learned a lot about us, got to know our lecturers and explore our campus.

And thanks for braving the storm! ⛈️

Congratulations to the Bachelor of Media Design students who have earned 19 finalist spots at the Design Institute of NZ's Best Awards!

We have our fingers crossed and wish them the best of luck for the next stage of the competition which will be conferring Gold, Silver and Bronze awards in October!

Check out the projects and read more here: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/news/bachelor-media-design-sweep-awards-across-two-design-competitions

Congratulations to Miguel, Lecturer for the Bachelor of Media Design at MDS, who won Type Here 2026 with his poster Voices/Kōrero.

Type Here is an Aotearoa poster competition, focused on contemporary and expressive typography. This year's theme was Wāwāhia Te Tahā (Break The Calabash), focusing on risk-taking and creative experimentation.

Miguel's piece weaves street signs from across Tāmaki Makaurau like tāniko. It is the voices and kōrero of people and communities that push for change and progress amidst the chaos.

Congratulations also to our students Alyssa Bult, Cat Boesley and Jaedan Ravenswood who earned finalists spots in this industry-level competition, and Ben Faulkner and Daris Toguay who earned Judges' Choice Awards.

The exhibition will continue to be open to the public from 21 August to 11 September during normal gallery hours. Auckland University of Technology’s Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery.

Thanks to everyone who joined us at MDS's How Bazaar Market!

It was an awesome event celebrating our students' creativity, and it was wonderful to welcome so many familiar alumni faces back to campus to set up shop.

From acrylic keyrings to crocheted plushies, there was a huge variety of artwork on display and available for purchase. We were proud to see what our students and alumni had created, and we look forward to seeing many of them again at future events like Auckland Armageddon and Overload!

Read more here: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/news/how-bazaar-brings-mds-creatives-together

MDS alumni founded studio Mermaid MenZ have launched the demo for their upcoming sequel 2.

The chaotic 1–8 player co-op gameplay returns, but this time players won't be confined to a single tavern. Travel across different fantasy regions and work in a variety of taverns with their own layouts and hazards while encountering new customers, dishes and cooking styles along the way.

Read more here: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/news/student-project-sequel-mds-alumni-prepare-launch-bronzebeards-tavern-2

Darryn Melrose believed deeply in the transformative power of education and in creating opportunities for others to thrive.

We're proud to honour that legacy through the Darryn Melrose Scholarship at Media Design School at Strayer, an annual scholarship that will support a future student by covering one year of tuition fees.

Read more about the scholarship and the lasting impact Darryn had on our school and the wider creative community: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/news/darryn-melrose-scholarship-support-next-generation-creative-talent

Thanks to everyone that joined us for TEQ Talks Auckland, bringing together students, creatives, and industry professionals for an evening of networking and insightful talks from some of Aotearoa's leading voices in VFX, animation, visual storytelling, and creative technology.

A huge thank you to our partners at the Visual Effects Society NZ Chapter and the Visual Effects Professionals Guild and the incredible speakers. We're proud to help create opportunities for our creative community to connect, learn, and be inspired.