About
The Museum of Design in Plastics — universally known by its acronym MoDiP — is the only museum in the United Kingdom dedicated entirely to plastics as a design material, and one of only a handful of such institutions anywhere in the world. Based at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) in Poole, MoDiP holds a collection of over 8,000 objects that trace the history, diversity, and cultural significance of plastics from the earliest synthetic materials of the late nineteenth century to the experimental bioplastics of the present day.
Plastics transformed the twentieth century more fundamentally than almost any other material innovation. They made possible forms of mass production, product design, and everyday convenience that reshaped how people lived, worked, and consumed. From the elegant Bakelite of the 1920s and 1930s — with its rich, warm tones and ability to be moulded into sculptural forms — through the bright, optimistic polyethylene and polystyrene consumer products of the 1950s and 1960s, to the high-performance technical plastics that now underpin everything from aerospace engineering to medical devices, the story of plastics is inseparable from the story of modern life.
MoDiP's collection is remarkable for its breadth and depth. Objects span the full range of plastics types — semi-synthetic cellulosics, early synthetics like Bakelite and Perspex, the great post-war thermoplastics — and the full range of applications: domestic goods, toys, jewellery, fashion accessories, packaging, industrial equipment, and artistic objects. The collection is particularly rich in iconic mid-century design objects, including products by some of the most significant industrial designers of the twentieth century, whose work in plastics helped define the visual and material culture of the postwar decades.
As a university museum, MoDiP serves a vital educational function — providing design students at AUB and researchers worldwide with access to primary material evidence of plastics design history. The museum's online collection database, which makes thousands of records accessible globally, has become an important resource for design historians, materials scientists, and environmental researchers grappling with the challenges and possibilities of plastics in a sustainability-conscious age.
The museum does not shy away from the environmental complexities of its subject. Plastics have become synonymous with pollution and waste, and MoDiP engages seriously with these issues — exploring the historical development of a 'throwaway culture', examining the promise of biodegradable and bio-based alternatives, and contributing to contemporary debates about how design can address the environmental legacy of the plastics age.
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Highlights
The Only UK Museum Dedicated to Plastics Design
MoDiP holds a uniquely privileged position in the international museum landscape as the only institution in the United Kingdom — and one of very few anywhere in the world — dedicated entirely to the study and display of plastics as a design material. This specialist focus gives the museum a depth and coherence that distinguishes it from the plastics holdings of generalist design or science museums.
The collection has been built with scholarly purpose over more than three decades, and it now constitutes one of the most important research resources for the history of plastics design anywhere in the world, used by researchers, designers, curators, and students from across the globe.
Bakelite and Early Synthetic Materials
The collection's holdings in early synthetic plastics — particularly Bakelite and the related phenolic resins that were the first truly synthetic mouldable materials — are among its greatest strengths. Bakelite, developed by Leo Baekeland and first commercialised in 1909, transformed industrial design and domestic manufacturing, making possible the sleek radio cabinets, telephone handsets, electrical fittings, and household objects of the 1920s and 1930s that defined the aesthetic vocabulary of the modern home.
MoDiP's Bakelite objects range from industrial components to pieces of jewellery, capturing the full social breadth of the material's application across the early twentieth century.
Mid-Century Design Icons
The postwar decades — from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through the swinging sixties and into the seventies — saw plastics move from industrial material to cultural symbol, as new polymers and manufacturing techniques made possible an explosion of brightly coloured, playfully designed consumer products that captured the optimism of the postwar consumer society.
MoDiP's collection of mid-century plastic objects includes pieces by some of the most significant industrial designers of the period, whose work in polyethylene, polystyrene, and melamine defined the visual language of the postwar home. These objects are now recognised as design classics and are among the most sought-after items in the design collector market.
Packaging Design Collection
Plastics packaging represents one of the most pervasive and complex aspects of modern material culture — present in every aspect of contemporary life yet increasingly problematic in its environmental impact. MoDiP's packaging design collection traces the development of plastic packaging from the first commercial applications in the 1940s and 1950s through to the present day, documenting how packaging design evolved to meet the demands of supermarket retailing, food safety, logistics, and consumer marketing.
The collection raises important questions about the relationship between design, convenience, and environmental responsibility that are central to contemporary debates about sustainability and the circular economy.
Collections
Plastics: A Material World
The permanent display drawing on MoDiP's collection to tell the story of plastics as a design material — from the earliest semi-synthetics through Bakelite and the postwar polymer revolution to contemporary sustainable material development.
Current Exhibitions
MoDiP regularly presents themed displays drawing on different aspects of the collection, alongside exhibitions exploring current issues in plastics design and sustainability. Check the MoDiP website for current exhibitions and events.