The mission at Young V&A is to build creative confidence and design skills that will enable young people to thrive and achieve their potential. Our Design Club is an after-school project for 11-14 year olds that aims to do this through real-world learning. In recent months, Design Club participants have worked with the museum team and specialist designers to create new products for the Young V&A shop. The products are inspired by the themes found in the temporary exhibition Japan: Myth to Manga, and include a sketchbook, stickers and keyrings.
This project was a truly collaborative effort, involving designers, makers, retail professionals, educators and of course twelve dedicated young design enthusiasts from Oaklands School in Tower Hamlets. We wanted to give everyone a voice, so we are going to take you through the project as an interview with some of the people involved:
Q. What happens at Young V&A’s Design Club?
A. The role of Design Club is to engage 11–14-year-olds with V&A collections, bringing the objects to life through hands on creative activities. Through codesign, Design Club members responded to a ‘live’ brief resulting in a real outcome – in this case, professional products that are sold in the YV&A shop. Young participants developed incredible ideas and built their creative confidence by learning new making techniques while working alongside design practitioners. We can all see the outcomes of their hard work – it’s a huge achievement to be the first young people to design products for our shop.
Haidee Drew, Senior Producer, Design, Young V&A
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Q. How did Design Club take inspiration from the exhibition Japan: Myths to Manga?
A. The exhibition features yōkai (a type of Japanese spirit or monster) and one common theme among many yōkai is that they teach us a human lesson – to be kinder to others, be wary of temptation, or otherwise. We asked the young designers to invent their own yōkai and to think about the human lesson it would share.
Euphemia Franklin, Illustrator
Q. What did teachers think of Design Club?
A. These workshops were more than just educational sessions; they were immersive experiences that allowed students to explore new creative avenues, develop practical skills, and express their artistic visions. Learning new techniques and having the freedom to experiment made these workshops exceptionally exciting and memorable. Additionally, the visit to the Japan exhibition provided further inspiration and enriched their understanding of traditional and contemporary Japanese art.
Belal Ahmed, Teacher of Design and Technology, Oaklands School
A. Having a chance to work with a variety of techniques and experts gave them an extremely rich experience’.
Louise Derry Head of Design and Technology from Oaklands school
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Q. Why is it important to introduce new creative material to young people?
A. It’s an opportunity for young people to step away from a screen and express their creativity on paper, whether that’s in the form of drawing or simply mark-making. The moment of peeling off the foil to reveal your foiled artwork is a moment of magic!
Emma McNiven, Brand Relationship Manager, Foilco
A. We supplied G. F. Smith ‘extract’, which is a paper made from recycled, used coffee cups. Teaching students about alternative fibres and the inherently renewable nature of paper allowed the students to recognise the sustainability of the material they were working with.
Vanessa Fletcher, Education Manager, GF Smith & Son (London) Ltd.
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Q. What inspired the pattern featured on the notebook?
A. I was particularly inspired by the woodblock prints depicting waves, waterfalls, and whirlpools in the Japan: Myth to Manga exhibition at Young V&A.
I use the ancient Japanese marbling technique of Suminagashi, which translates to ‘floating ink.’ This process involves carefully dropping inks into a tray of water, creating concentric rings. By using fans and other tools, I manipulate the ink to form more intricate patterns. Once the desired design emerges, I place a sheet of paper on the water’s surface to capture the ephemeral ink pattern.
Naomi Ellis, Artist
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Q. What impressed you most about Design Club?
A. I felt that Design Club really embraced the playfulness and fun of Young V&A. The students embodied the vibe of Young V&A, they showed a great sense of collaboration, joy and care for not just the what they were presenting but the why as well. I particularly liked the characters created and made into keyrings. I look forward to seeing what visitors think of the range!
Amy Akino-Wittering, Head of Operations and Commercial at Young V&A
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Last but not least, what did the Design Club students themselves like about the project?
A. Seeing my ideas in action!
A. Exploring different techniques and tours of the exhibits.
A. I found it quite fun collaborating as well as quite useful as we got to share some ideas.
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Check out the final products!
Sticker Range
Notebooks
Keyrings
Huge Thanks!
Huge thanks to the many people involved in Design Club, including Holly Zarnecki, Lead Creative Facilitator, the guest designers who joined us, our brilliant retail team and to the staff and students at Oaklands School who were inspiring to work with.
Japan: Myths to Manga is on at Young V&A in Bethnal Green until 8 September 2024.
Find out more about visiting Japan: Myths to Manga and book tickets.
Visit Young V&A’s first major creative installation, Lost and Found Yōkai, inspired by Japan: Myths to Manga until 1 September 2024.
