BPF announces free webinars examining iconic plastic product designs

The British Plastics Federation has announced a new series of free online webinars that will examine iconic product designs that emerged in the twentieth century thanks to the evolving manufacturing capability and innovation of the plastics industry.

Held in conjunction with the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP), the webinars will be looking at products that changed the way people think about design, production, function, aesthetics and use. Delivered by MoDiP’s curator, Dr Louise Dennis, the short 20-minute sessions will discuss the evolution of each product, the lessons learned and how excellence in design can have a lasting influence.

The series starts on the 24 February with the Panton Chair: the world's first moulded plastic chair. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Danish design, and currently forms part of the permanent collections some of the world's most famous design museums including New York's Museum of Modern Art, London's Design Museum, Berlin's German Historical Museum and Copenhagen's Danish Museum of Art & Design.

The series will also cover the Ekco A22 radio and how it played a part in the acceptance of plastics in the domestic setting (3 March); the cobra-shaped Ericofon, which was the first commercially marketed telephone to incorporate the dial and handset into a single unit (10 March); and the Sqezy washing up bottle - the first washing-up liquid to be sold in a squeezable plastic container, which has since become standard all over the world (17 March).

Each webinar is free to attend and open to all.