Dyson Industrial Design Language Analysis

Dyson has managed to make a vacuum cleaner feel as advanced and as cool as a jet engine. In this video, I break down some of the design decisions of various Dyson products so that you can start to apply similar principles to your own design work.

John Mauriello has been working professionally as an industrial designer since 2010. He is an Adjunct Professor of industrial design at California College of the Arts.

[Diax]

I gotta admit, the first time I saw a Dyson commercial I was totally struck by it. As an adult, over 10 years later, I still want one.

It just *seems* like the best vacuum, regardless of whether or not it is.

[ministryofungentlemanlywarfare]

As someone who has some very good friends who have worked at Dyson for many years, the average person (and unintentionally oblivious designer) have NO idea how their design team works.

'Thousands of designers and design engineers working like monkeys and typewriters' is how it was descrived to me.

Anything that is deemed innovative or well designed comes from having the time, resources and money to test thousands of iterations (one guy I know spent 4 months testing 55 different bristle types in hundreds of different combinations and arrangements) and pick the one that is the most efficient. A distinct lack of creative thinking and more 'test everything until it's 1% better and then try to beat it'. No problem with that level of testing and development, but certainly not the hub of creativity and innovation that they try to portray.

[DavidJGillCA]

Dyson's aesthetic seems substantially influenced by the work of architect Richard Rogers. ...Hi-tech, functional expression, transparency, color.

[RNYFLNY]

As a child of a poor working class family, Dyson products, specifically their vacuums when they first started advertising on TV, were like a view into luxury, and also my first introduction into the idea that things could be both elegant and functional.

[driesketels]

This design style reminds me of how I would design machines: you create the volumes that will do the function, stack it all together in 3d and then fillet the hell out of everything to make it smooth for feel, looks and moldable in a molding machine. Note that those cylinders and tubes that you describe are actual functioning things and they are called cyclone filters.

[matthawksworth]

Dyson products look like an invention made in a futuristic high-tech laboratory, something you'd see in Tony Stark's lab. The parts were already there to do the work, the cool spinning motions of different parts and particles, so just take advantage of this and let it market itself to the customer. Everyone loves Star Wars and so when vacuums, which were previously associated with old cleaning ladies were reborn with a Star Wars identity it made them something people needed.

[David-xxny]

This is fantastic. I had a lightbulb moment when you mentioned industrial pops of colour for utility. The factory, the subway, the on button. It's the same language. In this moment, I realised the universality of design.

[mvillawolf]

Loved the analysis and how you talk about the concepts that describe their style

[MultiPanda]

after some years of bagless vacums i got back to the ones with bags and i love them

[nikkig]

Great explanation! I'll admit that I didn't understand all the hype about Dyson at first. I initially found the primitive shapes and industrial aesthetic not very pleasing to the eye. Now I get it. Form definitely follows function here, and I better appreciate how the mechanical and technical aspects of the product are highlighted.

[batuhansutbeyaz]

Thanks for that brilliant analysis! The side view of the vacuum (especially the yellow one) gives such a stabilty and strenght but also it reminds me a leg of a transformers robot ready to involve in some action.

[justanotheryoutubechannel]

I wrote a massive 14 thousand word report on Dyson for my engineering class this year, I got so interested in the topic test it ended up 4x as long as it needed to be. (in fairness I was told it had to be twice as long as the actual target length)

[gustav_sandberg]

Really appreciate these videos! As a soon-to-be graduating industrial design student, I have missed this kind of specific brand analysis in school, at least in my uni. Thanks!

[AnnA]

Hearing about how Dyson brings a very industrial, technical and serious perception to their design, and then seeing the end of the video where the vacuum is called 'Fluffy'

[yaboi]

the vacuum designs never really did much for me, but the dyson fans will always be so cool. i dont even need a fan and i want one of these, theyre just look so futuristic and interesting

[apiazza]

Worked with a former lead ME from Dyson and he talked about their prototyping process informing the design language too. Everything has to be mocked up in cardboard and foam core initially and that would inevitability drive the DL.

[TheWaterIsTepid]

My gut reaction to the design is they’re trying to convey their device as being futuristic while retain a robust lite industrial look to it while still mainly being clearly a consumer product by mixing the industrial with a lot of modern design this all combines to create a sense of quality and luxury without resorting to high end Materials, “because the products just that good”. So my three words are futuristic:, performant/powerful, and quality/luxury . Let’s see how we compare :) tho I only get the first two pictures of their vacuum!

[NiftyKnot]

An interesting comparison would be with Henry Hoover from Pneumatic International. Another popular British vacuum design, but almost the exact opposite of those from Dyson due to simplicity and the entire appeal coming from a pair of eyes.

[SangamSinha]

Very astute analysis! Its a unique perspective towards cleaning-appliances and now I know why. Thanks John.

[QUARTERMASTEREMI]

Hi, Industrial Design student here! Really great analysis - Dyson is a favourite British company of mine, given their design language. Anyways, love your videos, they help a lot! ❤