Check-out this fairly recent book that covers the myriad of ways that plastics have been incorporated into various products and even the culture of our society.

Published by Black Dog Plublishing in the U.K., this recent book isn’t a how-to or strictly education title, but rather it may be use for you to get an idea of how useful various plastics can be in a very wide range of products.

From the publisher:

Drawing on the fascinating history of plastics, beginning with its first appearance at the 1862 Great International exhibition in London, Fantastic Plastic explores the evolution of this ubiquitous and endlessly malleable material. Through its various trademarked names Spandex, Teflon, Nylon, Rayon, Formica, Tupperware to its role in modern design, the book looks at how the function and reputation of plastic has changed over its lifetime, and considers the future of what became the defining material of the twentieth century.

Fantastic Plastic features a diverse range of artists, including: iconic twentieth century designer Charles Eames; Eero Aarnio, inventor of the hollow suspended bubble chair™; multi-award winning designer Phillipe Starck; and others such as Christo and Jeanne, Tatty Devine, Cake and Neave and Patrick Coyle. The book also features projects as diverse as the Eurostar, the Microsoft optical mouse, and the Volar nightclub in Shanghai, and explores classic uses of plastics in design and medicine, from Dunlop, LEGO and Biro, to plastic blood, hip replacements and artificial limbs.

In many ways, the history of plastics is the history of contemporary industrial design, and Fantastic Plastic provides a fascinating look at how designs using plastics can be considered works of art, as well as objects of our everyday lives, and is an essential book for designers, academics and everyone interested in popular consumer culture.

If you want to grab a copy of Fantastic Plastic, you can get it for around $35. Leave a comment below if you’ve read the book and want to share any thoughts!