Space Programme Wallpaper Design | Canva & Photopea Digital Art Project | KS3

Create a professional digital wallpaper inspired by space exploration with this engaging Canva and Photopea digital design project.

The included project uses the China Space Programme as its starting point, introducing students to missions, rockets, astronauts, rovers and space stations. However, the design brief can easily be adapted to explore any national or international space programme, including NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO or another space agency.

This makes the project particularly useful for teachers looking for a flexible digital Art & Design activity that can be adapted to different classes, countries or curriculum links.

Students create a 1920 × 1080 px computer wallpaper using space imagery, typography, colour, effects, filters and layered composition.

The project is designed for students who may be relatively new to digital design. Instructions are visual, accessible and broken into manageable stages.

WHAT STUDENTS DO

Students:

Research a space mission, programme or theme

Collect appropriate visual references

Plan a wallpaper composition

Set up a 1920 × 1080 px digital canvas

Work with images, text and multiple layers

Explore colour adjustments, filters and effects

Develop a clear focal point and balanced composition

Consider negative space so desktop icons remain visible

Refine and export a finished PNG or JPG wallpaper

WHAT’S INCLUDED

10-slide ready-to-teach PowerPoint

Clear digital wallpaper design brief

1920 × 1080 px / 16:9 canvas guidance

Research and image-source suggestions

Canva guidance

Photopea guidance

Layering, cropping and image-editing tips

Colour, filter and effect suggestions

Space-themed search vocabulary

Example wallpaper compositions

3-lesson project workflow

Final student checklist

Self-assessment prompts

Fast-finisher extension

FLEXIBLE SPACE THEME

The supplied presentation focuses on the China Space Programme, including missions such as Tiangong, Shenzhou, Chang’e and Tianwen.

Teachers can also adapt the same brief to:

NASA | ESA | JAXA | ISRO | international space exploration | Moon missions | Mars missions | astronauts | rockets | satellites | rovers | space stations

Simply change the research focus while keeping the same digital design process.

STUDENTS DEVELOP

Digital Art skills

Graphic Design

Visual communication

Composition

Typography

Image manipulation

Working with layers

Colour and contrast

Creative problem-solving

Digital presentation skills

SUITABLE FOR

KS3 Art & Design

Years 7–9

Year 8 Digital Art

Graphic Design

Digital image manipulation

STEAM projects

International schools

EAL / ESL students

Cover lessons

Enrichment

Canva beginners

Photopea beginners

The project works particularly well as a three-lesson digital design unit, but can also be shortened into a cover activity or extended into a larger graphic-design project.