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Of all the objects in the British Design Classics stamps series, the polypropylene chair is probably in everyday use the most, even to the extent that it’s taken for granted and not noticed. Yet, Robin Day‘s plastic seat is one of the most enduring classic British designs. Over 20 million have been made since its introduction in 1963, and the chair is to be commonly found in workplaces, schools, and shops up and down the country; there’s probably one near you right now.

Day had created the seating in the Royal Festival Hall in 1951, and originally designed the injection moulded polypropylene seat with an enamelled bent tubular base for Hille International, inspired by the Eames’ ‘Plastic Shell’ fibreglass chair from the 1950s. To be of low cost, durable, and lightweight, thermoplastic was decided to be a fit material for the job, also lending itself to be tough when the chairs were stacked.

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The polypropylene chair was one of the first pieces of furniture (if not the first) to fully make use of the mass-manufacturing opportunities of injection moulding, and has yet to be replaced. Its ordinary but extraordinary design has guaranteed its place in culture.

A product of the 1956 Suez Crisis petrol rationing, there are few cars that reach iconic status, but despite its diminutive size, the 3-metre long Mini is one of them. Introduced onto the UK streets in 1959, the Mini truly was ground breaking in the fact over 80 percent of the car’s total size could be used for the transport of luggage and passengers. The space-saving transverse engine, front-wheel drive layout designed by Sir Alec Issigonis has been used in almost every other small car since, irrespective of manufacturer.

The basic car spawned five versions, the Clubman, the Traveller/Countryman estate, the Van, the Pick-Up, and the Jeep-like Mini Moke. Of course, the racing tuned Cooper and Cooper S variants are arguably the most famous, scoring three Monte Carlo Rally victories. In 1999, the Mini came second in a poll to find the most influential car of the 20th Century, and production halted a year later, when BMW sold the Rover Group, keeping the Mini brand for its new small car model line. A total of 5,387,862 Minis had been manufactured.

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The Mini’s simple and cheap philosophy extended to the sliding windows in the doors. Why sliding windows? Storage pockets were fitted in the space where a winding window mechanism would have been. Rumour has it that Mini creator Issigonis is said to have sized these storage bins to take a bottle of his favourite Gordon’s Gin, or more probably, milk.

Just like Harry Beck’s underground map, the AEC Routemaster is as synonymous with London, as the black cab and Beefeaters. Introduced in 1956, and built until 1968, the classic front-engined open rear platform bus was developed in partnership with London Transport, although the Capital wasn’t the only place in the UK which Routemasters were seen in service.

A team led by A A Durrant and Colin Curtis developed the 64-seat Routemaster, with techniques borrowed from Second World War aircraft production, such as the use of lightweight aluminium. The iconic double-decker bus gave continuous service in London until 2005, and outlasted many of its replacements, which is a testament to the original design by Douglas Scott. Around 1,000 Routemasters are still thought to be in existence, from a 2,876 production run.

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The Routemaster still takes passengers around the Capital on two heritage routes (from the Royal Albert Hall to Aldwych, and Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill), and several were painted silver and then gold for the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilees  in 1977 and 2002 respectively.

Produced in greater numbers than any other Allied aircraft, the single-seat fighter aircraft that is the Submarine Spitfire made it’s first flight in 1936. Designed by R J Mitchell, the Spitfire also holds the accolade for being the only Allied aircraft in production throughout the duration of the Second World War.

Primarily flown by the RAF from 1938, the distinctive elliptical winged design gave the Spitfire a higher top speed than many of its contemporaries. More of a bit part player in the Battle of Britain (the Hawker Hurricane did more damage to the German forces), the Spitfire’s status is legendary in aircraft folklore. By its retirement in 1957, over 20,000 had been produced.

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The Spitfire was almost called the Shrew. Sir Robert MacLean, director of Spitfire maker Vickers-Armstrong in 1936 suggested the legendary name, as it was the affectionate name of his daughter, Ann. Dating from Elizabethan times, ‘Spitfire’ signifies a fiery type of person.

Founded in 1935, British publisher Penguin soon became a byword for popular fiction, selling over one million books in its first year. Right from the start, the design of the company’s book covers was simple, with three horizontal bands of colour, instantly making them different from the illustration laden competition.

The top and bottom panels were coloured contrastingly accordingly to the type of genre to which the books belonged; the iconic orange and white palette signifying general fiction. Designed by 21-year-old Penguin office junior Edward Young, the books’ white central panel featured the author’s name and title in Eric Gill’s sans serif typeface Gill Sans. Young’s basic design was popular and timeless, being used until the 1950s.

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Recent editions of Penguin imprints have revisited the classic three-band design, so recognisable is the look. The original 1935 colour scheme for the fiction books included green and white for crime, red and white for travel, blue and white for biographies, purple and white for essays, and grey and white for world affairs.