Museum of Brands

A permanent display at the Museum of Brands in London, drawn from a collection of more than half a million items that traces around 200 years of social change, consumer culture and design.

The Museum of Brands, founded in 1984, is a museum of everyday consumer history in London. Its collection of more than half a million items covers around 200 years of social change and consumer culture. The holdings concentrate on areas that have shaped daily life: entertainment, travel, leisure, music and fashion, as well as postcards, magazines, children's toys, short-lived printed items from wartime and royal souvenirs.

The displays present a broad social history, showing how consumer lifestyles have shifted and how technology has enabled change and progress. The story is told through the visual side of design, graphics and commercial art, so the objects on show are as much about how goods were presented as about the goods themselves.

The permanent display will suit visitors interested in social history, advertising and graphic design, and it can be visited at any point while the museum is open. Its emphasis on commercial art and printed material makes it particularly relevant to anyone curious about how everyday products were marketed.