DesignLab Nation
DesignLab Nation, from the V&A Museum, London, is a programme of in-depth projects that explore new ways of engaging secondary school students across the country with design.
As the world’s greatest museum of art and design – a ‘schoolroom for everyone’, as described by our founding Director, Henry Cole – the V&A has an essential role to play in the nation’s creative education. When the museum was founded in 1837, its primary aim was to improve arts education and, in turn, contribute to the creative economy of the country.
In 2017, the V&A Schools team launched DesignLab Nation, a National Schools Programme. Through the first three-year initiative, they aim was to inspire the next generation of designers across the country, and to help young people develop the essential skills for the workplace of the future – including critical thinking, creativity and collaboration.
Coventry was one of the regional partner museums, along with Blackburn, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland – all areas with a rich industrial heritage, but with the lowest numbers of students selecting to take D&T at the GCSE level (at the time).
In Coventry, the V&A partnered with Coventry Transport Museum and textile artist Julia Snowdin to run DesignLab Nation projects with local Secondary schools, The Westwood Academy and Coundon Court. Julia set students a challenge to create innovative textile designs that solved transport-related problems. They took inspiration from seven loaned V&A objects that demonstrated key design principles considered by vehicle designers, such as aerodynamics, style, and the use of hard and soft materials. These objects included the work of such key designers as Ray and Charles Eames and Robert Foster. Students decided to address a range of needs – from practical women’s fashions for riding a motorcycle, to the risk of obstructed vision caused by rain on a crash helmet.
Coventry continued to be a partner museum in DesignLab Nation through to 2021, where further designer led projects continued with students from additional Coventry secondary schools.
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