Digital Art & Design

From early computer generated drawings and algorithmic art to personal organisers and the mosquito emoji, the V&A holds more than 3,000 digital art and design objects dating from the 1950s to the present. Including works created by individuals through to large-scale corporations, the collection explores the interplay between art, design and technology, and how they shape how we live together.

Highlights include the 1974 'Structures of Square' computer plotter drawing by Vera Molnár, the first navigable virtual environment produced in the 1970s by David Em for NASA, Apple's stylish iMac G3 designed in 1998 by Jonathan Ive, and WeChat's Bubble pup GIF stickers from 2015 made by Tencent Technology.

Search “Digital Art & Design” in Explore the Collections

Features

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A history of collecting digital objects at the V&A

A timeline of collecting, from the earliest acquisitions of computer art in 1969 to the complex digital works in the collection today

  1. Read

    Digital art

    Explore of a history of digital art through our collections
  2. Read

    A history of artificial intelligence in 10 objects 
  3. Read

    A history of digital design: Part 1 – Connectivity

    Explore the history of personal computers, smartphones, social media, smart devices and the Internet of Things

  4. Read

    A history of digital design: Part 2 – Expanding worlds

    Explore the history of videogames, virtual and augmented reality, and critical technologies

  5. Read

    Patric D. Prince: digital art visionary

    A key figure in early computer and digital art, recognising the importance and potential of these new art forms.
  6. Read

    At the press of a button: A V&A history of 3D printing

    The ambition of printing anything, anywhere, anytime has long been a futuristic dream
  7. Watch

    Dialling in on the Minitel: ASMR

    Tapping the keys on retro technology
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    Hyperreal glass sculpture: ASMR

    Can you resist reaching out and touching it?
  9. Read

    Digital art & design dictionary

    A glossary of key terms in the field of digital art and design

Collection highlights

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  1. drawing
    Computer-generated drawing (with hand colouring), by Harold Cohen, 1974, United States
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  2. photograph
    'Oscillon 40', photograph, by Ben Laposky, 1952, United States
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  3. drawing
    'Structure of Squares', plotter drawing, by Vera Molnar, 1974, Paris, France
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  4. screenprint
    Screenprint, by Eduardo Mac Entyre, 1973, Argentina
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  5. punched card set
    'PO32 (Matrix Elements)', deck of punched cards, by Manfred Mohr, 1970, Paris, France
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  6. code
    Code for 'Process 18 (Software 3)', by Casey Reas, 2010, United States
    View by appointment
  7. lithograph
    'Running Cola is Africa', lithograph after a computer-generated drawing, by the Computer Technique Group, 1967/68, Japan
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  8. print
    Untitled, screenprint, by Ken Knowlton, from the portfolio 'Art Ex Machina', 1972, United States
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  9. personal computer
    iMac G3 personal computer, designed by Jonathan Ive for Apple Inc, 1998
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  10. radical Love
    'Radical Love', by Heather Dewey-Hagborg, 3D-printed mask of Chelsea Mannings face, generated by DNA phenotyping methods, 2016
    V&A South Kensington
    Not on display
  11. mosquito emoji in .eps format
    Mosquito emoji, designed by Aphelandra Messer in .eps format, 2018
    View by appointment
  12. 3D-Printed Speculum
    GynePunk speculum, designed by Urs Gaudenz (GaudiLabs), Paula Pin Lage (BioTRANSlab), and Klau Chinche, also known as Klau Kinki or Klau Kinky (GynePunk), 2015, printed by Paula Pin Lage, 2019
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  13. hyper-Reality
    Still from 'Hyper-Reality', digital film on the future of augmented reality and the city, by designer Keiichi Matsuda, 2016
    On loan
  14. 3D printer
    Thing-O-Matic, 3D printer, made by Makerbot, 2010 – 12
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  15. gIF
    Bubble pup animated GIF sticker, created for use in the WeChat app, 2016, Shenzhen, China
    View by appointment

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Header image:
'Approach', by David Em, colour photograph, computer-generated, 1975, Sierra Madre, United States