JAMES DYSON

Sir James Dyson is a British inventor and industrial designer. He ran through 5,127 prototypes before perfecting his groundbreaking G-Force upright vacuum cleaner – and, finding that existing vacuum cleaner manufacturers would not take on his groundbreaking new model, set up his own company, Dyson, in 1993. Dyson also now manufactures fans, heaters, hand dryers, digital motors and a robotic vacuum cleaner. Dyson invests £3million per week in new technology and engineering, but every idea starts with a sketch.

Dyson created the James Dyson Foundation in 2002 to support design and engineering education. The Foundation aims to inspire young people “to think differently, make mistakes, and invent”.  The Foundation also supports the work of young designers around the world through the James Dyson Award.

Dyson is Provost of the Royal College of Art in London and Patron of the Design & Technology Association.

He says that engineering “teaches you all the valuable life lessons you need. […] You watch failure and overcome failure because you don’t get it right the first time. You go back, you analyse it, you change it, you get it right. That’s what life’s about.”