Visual Computational Storytelling Intern

Job Description

About the company:

At Page, they promise design that makes lives better. They are an architecture, engineering, interiors, and consulting services firm working on large, complex projects globally. They credit their success to the diversity of their people and are seeking creative and committed team members.

Job Description:

Page is seeking a Visual Computational Storytelling Intern to join The Page Foundation’s sponsored Page’s Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Tool (PILAT) initiative. PILAT aims to elevate Indigenous knowledge in contemporary architecture, informing design decisions about materials and strategies that are site-specific and culturally responsive. The intern will work closely with Page’s Research & Innovation Group.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze Indigenous data for recurring themes, symbols, material systems, and ecological knowledge.
• Explore strategies for representing these insights through form, texture, or spatial organization.
• Define design rules or logics that can be translated into parametric scripts (e.g., using Grasshopper).
• Prototype the story telling parametric design tool.
• Analyze and interpret Indigenous knowledge and site-specific cultural data gathered via PILAT.
• Identify symbolic, material, ecological, or spatial patterns across different Indigenous contexts.
• Explore ways to translate these patterns into architectural form, texture, or material language.
• Support the development of rule sets that can be translated in scripts and parametric modeling, generative design, and simulation workflows for storytelling purposes.
• Document findings and present them in visually compelling, critically aware formats.
• Collaborate with designers, researchers, and Indigenous consultants in an iterative process.

Qualifications:

• Actively enrolled in, or have recently completed, a graduate program (master or doctorate)—or be an undergraduate with exceptional skills aligned with the requirements—in one of the following (or a related) fields: Computer Sciences, Computer Engineering, Engineering, Math or Applied Physics, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Design & Applied Arts, Sociology, Art History, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Museum Studies, Product Design/Packaging, Digital Communication, City/Urban/Regional Planning, Geography, Game Development, Design Computing, Data Visualization, Indigenous Studies, Computational Design, Digital Fabrication, Anthropology, Cultural Geography, with an interest in Sociology, Anthropology and Computational Design.
• Sharp computational skills and a strong interest in cultural storytelling, computational design, and architectural materiality.
• Rule Definition & Parametric Design: Proven ability to translate raw data into explicit design rules—mapping patterns to forms, materials, textures, and spatial logics—and implement those rules in Grasshopper (or equivalent) and scripting (Python, C#, etc.).
• Visual & Textual Research: Strong research and analytical skills for uncovering themes, symbols, and ecological insights within Indigenous knowledge systems.
• Cultural Sensitivity & Ethics: Deep respect for Indigenous perspectives; skill in crafting non-appropriative, site-responsive narratives that honor cultural contexts.
• Communication & Storytelling: Excellent written, verbal, and visual storytelling—able to document methodologies, present findings, and articulate design narratives with clarity and nuance.
• Background in bioregional materials or sustainable design principles is preferred.
• Prior community engagement or cultural storytelling projects preferred.
• Minimum 20 hours per week and duration is up to 6 months.