Dyson Paper

            James Dyson is a well known British Industrial Designer, entrepreneur, and engineer. Dyson was born on May 2, 1947. He grew up in a town called Cromer, England. Nine years after Dyson’s birth, his father passed away. In an interview about Dyson’s early loss he said, “I can’t quite explain it, but I think subconsciously I felt I needed to prove myself” (Life’s Work). This need to prove himself ultimately led him to be the designer that he is today. Dyson attended the Royal Collage of Art where he studied interior and furniture design and later went on to study engineering (. At school Dyson met engineer Jeremy Fry who also started his own business. It wasn’t until after working with Fry did Dyson begin to design on his own, and this is where he began to make his name.

            Dyson’s success came after one day getting frustrated with his vacuum because it kept loosing its suction the more he vacuumed. After tearing the vacuum apart he discovered that the problem was dust getting stuck in the bag holes. He set off the change the vacuuming industry and 5,127 prototypes later (Life’s Work), he did. Dyson’s newly designed vacuum was something the market had not seen yet. His design flaunted the engineering and the mechanisms of how the vacuum worked unlike the other competitors vacuums on the market. The colors that he used weren’t the typical in house appliance colors that most vacuums on the market were using. He used colors used in power tools and that created a sleek and serious look. The vacuum also offered something that no other vacuum offered; you could see the dust being sucked up into the new chamber. Dyson believed that designers should be the engineers and the engineers should be the designer and when the two are separated designers start doing things for marketing purposes rather than functional purposes (How to Make It).  The big manufacturers declined Dyson’s innovative design, but he pressed on and began his own manufacturing process. His vacuum soon took over the market. His idea to keep design and function together kept reviving in his work. Innovations he made in one product he would try and find other ways he could use it. Dyson’s work is a perfect example of how design should interact with how the product works and how it could be used for other products.