A02: James Dyson

                        

      

                    

James Dyson

         James Dyson was born in Cromer, Norfolk, England. He went to Byam School of Art for a year, and then studied furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art before going into engineering. Dyson married in 1968 and they had three children. Dyson was the chair of the board of trustees of the Design Museum, “the first in the world to showcase design of the manufactured object.” In 1997 he was awarded the Prince Phillip Designers Prize, and then in 2000 he received the Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award. One of his early inventions were the Ballbarrow, which was a version of the wheelbarrow but using a ball instead of a wheel. Dyson had this idea of using a ball in all of his designs he just couldn’t let it go. In the late 70’s he had thought of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt . Dyson launched his first vacuum cleaner in Japan called the ‘G-Force’, which ended up winning the 1991 International Design Fair prize in Japan. He had failed to sell his invention to major manufacturers so he decided to make his own manufacturing company. Dyson Cleaners became the market leaders in the United States by value, and the Dyson Dual Cyclone became the fastest selling vacuum cleaner to be made in the UK. The ‘say goodbye to the bag’ slogan attracted the buying public like crazy. Then in 2005 he added the ball from his Ballbarrow concept, creating Dyson Ball. This is the reason I chose this designer. I am absolutely in love with the Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner! 

         His main contribution was the James Dyson Foundation that supported design and engineering education. This foundation encourages people to think differently and to make mistakes . It also funds the ‘Education box’. I think that he has accomplished a great amount, and that he never gave up. When the UK didn’t want any of his product then he just advertised to Japan. When companies didn’t want his invention then he made his own manufacturing company. I also think it’s good that he shows this strength through the James Dyson Foundation. 

"Inside Dyson | Dyson.com." Dyson Official Site | Dyson.com. 2011. Web. 22 Jan. 2011. http://www.dyson.com/insidedyson/default.asp.

Davidson, Andrew. "Sir James Dyson - Times Online." The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion. 14 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2011. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article7061037.ece.