The museum's collections
Did you know that Design Museum’s collections contain over 75,000 objects, 45,000 drawings and 125,000 photographs. The original collection was established in 1873 by the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design to serve the needs of the Craft School of Helsinki, the predecessor of the present-day Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The first 700 objects were acquired in 1873 from the Vienna World’s Fair. At present, the collections are displayed in the museum’s exhibitions, in addition to which the materials of the collections, the museum’s archives and index of information on 1,000 designers are also available to researchers by appointment.
Design Museum’s Collection Policy (in Finnish):
Designmuseon kokoelmapolitiikka
THE COLLECTION CONSISTS OF
Objects
75 000
Drawings
45 000
Photographs
125 000
Artist information
A registry of 1000 designers
Web exhibitions
New Age
Test your knowledge of design. Finnish design achieved world renown at the Milan Triennials of the early 1950s. ”A New Age” is a web exhibition listing the main designers, manufacturers and products of the so-called golden age of Finnish design of the 1950s and 1960s.
Explore our web exhibitions here
Image Archives
Are you looking for photographs of design objects? Design Museum image archives is the national archive for the arts & crafts and design. The collection databases, archives and designer registry are available on request. Image publishing fees start from 100 euros.
Research requests and appointments:
Johanna Luhtala
+358 50 570 4010
johanna.luhtala@designmuseum.fi