V&A Dundee – Selkie Trail

V&A Dundee’s family-friendly Selkie Trail is a free, self-directed print resource, designed to:

• enhance visitor experience through a welcoming entrance design intervention
• support all ages to discover, explore and uncover the museum’s spaces together
• encourage family engagement, social connection and intergenerational learning
• support self-guided visits through accessible and informative interpretation

"Join Selkie the Seal on a trail to find out more about our incredible building! Pick up a free, family-friendly printed trail and pencil and then explore the museum. Sketch, wander and find out fun facts about our architecture and design. When you’ve finished, collect an Official Explorer stamp and Selkie’s Seal of Approval!

Selkie the Seal was designed by award-winning Scottish textile designer Donna Wilson, especially for us. Donna took inspiration from the Scottish coastline, as well as our aquatic neighbours in the Tay, and this cuddly seal was given the name Selkie after a public vote on social media. No need to book, just turn up!"

Concept/Co-Design/Content

This architecture-inspired interpretation project was driven by our Families programme, co-designed with the museum’s YPC (Young People’s Collective, ages 14-24), meeting weekly to represent young people’s voices and influence programmes for younger visitors.

Exploring paper prototypes together, we moved from an initial approach of a short print-run origami trail to a longer-term proposal, inspired by Donna Wilson’s knitted seal (created exclusively for our Shop). The cuddly character was chosen to lead visitors around the museum, providing a friendly, curious tone of voice.

The YPC researched the museum features, structure and engineering they found interesting (concrete, lighting, viewpoints, fossils, building materials, etc), creating digestible facts and translating these to form a plain-language journey route. Interpretation was refined to ensure architectural content was pitched at the right level, mixing highlights with learning provocations.

Graphics/Illustration

A design brief was created including playful elements, e.g. the ‘clapping Selkie’ spread and ink stamp spots, alongside the trail’s text content. Graphic designer Martin Baillie created the comic panel style layout and illustrations, using a print-inspired aesthetic with a limited palette of tonal blues, greys and black.

Vinyl monochrome ‘paws points’ were installed in the museum to complement the steps within the trail. A large sofa spot vinyl also invites families to sit, take a #SelkieSelfie together and share this online. On completion of the trail, visitors can collect ‘Official Explorer’ and ‘Selkie’s Seal of Approval’ stamps, plus a high five from the team!