International & Independent Category Prize Day: Design Ventura 2024-25

Did you know we run Design Ventura for schools beyond UK state schools?

Although we can’t offer them quite all the perks of the state school category (which is specifically intended to lower barriers of access to hands-on design learning), we appreciate everyone of our independent and international – or “I&I” – Design Ventura participants. Just like the main state schools category, we shortlist and pick a winner every year, and make sure to celebrate our top nominees with a celebration.

This year’s top 3 all happened to be UK-based, so we were able to welcome them to the Design Museum in person on Wednesday for an I&I Prize Day. After breaking the ice with some tea and biscuits, we dove straight into the main activity: a dynamic graphic design workshop focused on creating protest posters.

Led by Joe – one of our long-time facilitators across not just Design Ventura but also the general museum Schools programme and holiday Design Camps – students first considered graphic design in its appearances across book covers, leaflets, packaging, and signage. Using all they had learned and discussed, and drawing additional inspiration from Shepard Fairey’s iconic HOPE poster created for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign – which holds a special place in the Design Museum’s own collection! – they created their very own protest posters.

Each student chose their own topic, ranging from preventing the polar ice caps melting to improving access to books and reading. Although an unexpected fire alarm added an impromptu adventure to our day, students and teachers alike took it all in good stride and in the end it only added to the day’s sense of camaraderie. We couldn’t have asked for a more easygoing set of young designers.

Following the workshop and peer presentations, we moved into the two moments everyone was waiting for: lunch and the awards ceremony.

The Design Museum’s Head of Learning, Stella Fong, joined us to announce the winners…

• Highly commended: most fun idea!
  Kew House School with Chore Challengers.
• Highly commended: best presentation and branding
  Halcyon London International School with the MicroBloom Greenhouse by Little Leaf Labs.
• Overall winner
  The King’s School with Scrap’n’Save.

But the fun didn’t end there. All teams headed upstairs to our newly opened, free Design Researchers in Residence display, where they were personally welcomed by one of our current residents, Christie Swallow. Christie was also one of our Speed Networkers for the wider Celebration Event, and we and all our visiting students just love their warmth and sheer enthusiasm for learning and design – and parakeets.

Students then visited the rest of our free displays featuring the work of multidisciplinary artist and designer Bethan Laura Wood and this year’s Saltzman Prize winner, rounding out their museum experience with exposure to contemporary design practice, before the day concluded with our current exhibition, Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style – just the thing to get everyone excited for the summer holidays and warming temperatures here in England.

Watching these young designers engaging with different facets of design as they moved through the museum has reinforced why Design Ventura continues to be such a vital programme, and their curiosity and creativity as always reminds us of the reach and impact of design education. We’re grateful to all of our participants, from every corner of the UK and beyond, for their participation this year.

A huge congratulations to all three finalist teams for their outstanding work, and to the teachers who continue to nurture the next generation of design thinkers. Until next time!

The Design Ventura team.