Design Ventura 2024–2025

DESIGN VENTURA brings the business of design to life. Created in partnership with Deutsche Bank, the programme encourages participant school groups to answer a live brief to design a new product for our museum shop. The challenge gives students a real-world context for learning, providing them with first-hand experience of the importance of design in our economy and society, as well as sustainable design values and principles.

Launched in 2010 and now entering its fifteenth year, the Design Ventura programme has seen over 160,000 students from 3,400 schools participate and has raised more than £19,000 for charity.

COMPETITION
Taking a competition format, students are challenged to design a new product to be sold at the Design Museum Shop. Teachers deliver the project in their schools, giving students the chance to tackle a real-world design brief and develop creative thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and enterprise skills, aligned to the national curriculum.

EXHIBITION
Each year, the top ten shortlisted schools are invited to pitch their product ideas to a panel of expert judges. The winning idea is then made and sold in the museum's online and onsite shops, with all proceeds going to the winning team’s chosen charity. The shortlisted projects are displayed in the museum alongside the winner idea.

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN

The 2024/25 competition brief has been set by Notpla, an Earthshot Prize-winning firm who designs and produces regenerative packaging materials, made from seaweed and plants. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the museum, and the two-month display of shortlisted and winning entries will follow.

Schools can register for free on the Design Ventura website. Once registered your school can access free resources and start delivering the programme in your school. You can register to take part if you are:

• Both UK secondary schools and British international schools can register for the project

• D&T, A&D, Business & Enterprise Students and related creative subjects

• International and Independent schools are welcome to participate but compete for a different, separate prize.

• Free teacher CPD sessions

• Free online resources, including workshop plans and films

• Free museum workshops supported by design and industry professionals for UK state schools

• Free online workshops led by museum educators for UK state schools based outside of London

• Flexible project structure that can be run in lessons, as an extra-curricular activity, a STEM/STEAM project or towards CREST award or Arts Mark

• Support from the Design Ventura team

• All participating students receive certificates

• The top ten ideas are displayed in a public exhibition at the Design Museum

• The winning team will work with professional designers to see their idea manufactured and sold in the Design Museum shop

• Separate International and Independent Schools Category

‘I will be doing this project again. It gives a brilliant insight into the complexity of designing from a brief (good preparation for the NEA contextual challenges) and a wonderful opportunity for working as a group.’ Participating Teacher 2019/2020

'It made me realise that there is a lot more to designing than I originally thought and gave me a better idea of how the GCSE course work will be.' Participating Student 2019/2020

Background image: Design Ventura 2023 – 2024. Photography by Richard Heald.