With a Collection of Over 15,000 Pieces of Packaging, The Chicago Brand Museum Redefines What Makes a Museum

• DIELINE’s Charlotte Beach recently toured The Chicago Brand Museum, speaking with founders Fred Richards and Elisabeth Emory about their impressive collection of CPG items from throughout history
• The CBM boasts a collection of 15,000+ packaging and brand specimens, revealing the under-appreciated art and design brilliance behind such items

On the surface, The Chicago Brand Museum might seem like nothing more than a collection of 15,000-plus pieces of brand packaging on display in wall-to-wall glass cases on the second floor of an old Cadillac dealership on Chicago’s Motor Row. Which, admittedly, is pretty damn cool. But upon closer inspection, the CBM is a lot more than that, with its very inception and existence interrogating the nature of what a museum even is and what constitutes art. 

Profound concepts, indeed, that most visitors probably aren’t expecting to encounter when stopping by a museum packed with what many would consider trash. But that’s just it: the CBM is in the business of reframing, revealing the artistry and design brilliance behind household items and brands that have been so ubiquitous around the world for so long that we don’t even acknowledge their mastery.