Learning Resources
Now Accepting Contactless
Our resources explore Now Accepting Contactless, which brought together objects revealing ways both designers and citizens have used their skills in the crisis. Learning more about the vital role design played during the pandemic. These are aligned to the Scottish curriculum and can be adapted for learning at all levels.
Comic Book Design
Reimagine a well-known fairytale for the modern day, and design your very own comic strip using our Comic Book Creator worksheets. Take inspiration from the graphic novels and comics in our Scottish Design Galleries and think about storyboarding and sequencing while imagining a new version of an old story.
You can also check out Adventures in Design, by comic illustrator Will Morris and graphic designer David Mackenzie. In 2015 they designed a giant 150m long comic strip, which covered the museum’s building site hoardings for two years while it was under construction. It tells the story of the everyday relevance of design – how it solves problems, improves lives and makes the world more beautiful and fun.
Family Design Challenge
Imagine an idea, develop it and share it!
Right now we are staying home more than ever. So we’ve come up with a special Family Design Challenge where you can design a new way to help people from feeling lonely.
Design isn’t just about making things. It can also be about developing and sharing new ideas. It can even be used to change the places we live, learn and play in.
What matters to you is important to us, and we know you’ll come up with some fantastic, interesting and fun ideas. Try new things and dare to think big! And don’t forget to share them with us @VADundee!
My Garden Design
Think about an outside space you would like to design. If you don’t have an outside space, what would your dream garden look like? What would you do in it? Use the sheets and information below to help you.
Our Community Garden project was co-designed by a group of adults living with and recovering from a range of health issues, with architectural design studio kennedytwaddle and designer Linsey McIntosh. Using the co-design process, they explored every element of the garden in detail. How would they like to feel when in the garden? How should it look, smell, sound? How should it feel to the touch?
Our Community Garden is located in Slessor Gardens, just across the road from the museum. You can find out more about the project below:
Pop-up Museum in a Book
Ever wanted to become an exhibition designer? Well now is your chance! Use the templates below to start you off or create your own and draw objects you would like to put in your own museum.
This pop-up version of V&A Dundee was inspired by the original stage set designed by Scottish artist John Byrne for The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil. Made in 1973, the theatre set takes the form of a giant pop-up book. The compact cardboard design meant the set was cheap to make and could be transported on the top of a van for touring around Scotland. The actors would turn the page during the play to reveal the next scene.
This downloadable version, created by designers Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Martin Baillie, features more inspirational objects from our Scottish Design Galleries, including the ‘Lips’ dress by Holly Fulton, a teapot by Christopher Dresser and the kaleidoscope, invented by David Brewster.
The project was supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and the William Grant Foundation.
If you want to have a closer look at the pop-up theatre, including recent 3D models, delve into these articles:
Design for the Future
How will the future look? Where would you like to live? How will you get around? What kind of clothes will you wear? What will things be made of? What will they be powered by? Will they be able to do extra things they can’t do now?
Join the designers of tomorrow and imagine the future you want to live in, using the worksheets below.
Videogames Character Design
How would you design your ideal videogame character? What would their story be? Who would be their friend – or foe? Would they have a sidekick, or even a pet? Think about all the different things they could do – get stuck in using the sheet below.
If you’re looking for some extra inspiration, we commissioned a videogame called Plaything in 2019. The designers and creators told us all about the variety of different design processes it takes to make a game. You can read more about it here: