Design Council Award winners

The V&A’s Circulation Department (1850s–1977) pioneered collecting everyday contemporary design and ‘circulating’ objects to UK institutions to share ideas. When the Design Council started its Best British Design award in the 1950s, the V&A started collecting the winning examples.

The Circulation Department Keeper, Peter Floud, was concerned that ‘visitors would not expect to see washing machines in the same building as […] Renaissance sculptures.’ But under the next Keeper, Hugh Wakefield, collecting went ahead and the department amassed 600 award-winners.

Written by: Kristian Volsing, Senior Curator, Contemporary Programme
Published: May 2025

Collecting Stories