December 2001
Comment
Do it yourself
"We need to design the unimaginable," said James Dyson at the 'Outside the Box' debate at the Royal College of Art.
He is a firm believer in taking responsibility for all aspects of design himself, and not deferring to consultants. As proof of the soundness of his advice, he cited the example of the transparent dirt containers in the Dyson cleaners. He said that consulted experts told him that to have a clear bin was unacceptable, because dirt was disgusting. He went ahead with the clear bin anyway, because he was convinced that a clear bin helped users see when the cleaner needed emptying, and this advantage outweighed any dislike of the contents and the additional cost. He added that a US licensee took the advice of the experts and made its dirt bin black and consequently went bankrupt.
Dyson is a firm believer in doing things himself and being able to do things himself. "There is a tendency, in industry, to look down on those who involve themselves with detail." He said people should study the methodology of the great engineers of the past. "Outside advisers are denied gems of intelligence." (referring to their knowledge gathered from experience) "The consultant is absolved of responsibility. The insider is committed and has to succeed in the market place." Professor Sir Christopher Frayling, the Rector of the RCA, said that when Dyson was a student at the RCA, he used to sneak into engineering lectures at neighbouring Imperial College in order to gather an understanding of structures to back up his studies of styling and ergonomics.
A realisation of the need to give designers a knowledge of both engineering and artistic design subsequently led to the development of the present Industrial Design Engineering course at the RCA, which is nowadays run jointly with Imperial College. The course currently has only 38 students and has only produced 274 graduates since it started in 1980. However, these form an astonishingly high proportion of the UK's top designers, more than a few of whom now head up-and-coming companies, including several leading design consultancies, whatever Dyson thinks of the breed. Many smaller businesses cannot afford the luxury of a large, full-time design team and do not have a James Dyson at the helm. Design consultants can then be of great benefit.
Taking full responsibility, and being able to do important jobs oneself, where possible, can only bring benefits. Mark Findlay, CAE manager at Ricardo, tells us that the senior directors of the enterprise are currently being taught the finer points of the Baan ERP system, in order, he says, to be able to properly understand the problems of its implementation. Many instances in other enterprises have demonstrated that non IT-literate managers relying purely on the advice of IT consultants can be disastrous.
Probably the all time expert at never asking anyone to do anything he could not do himself, and thinking outside the box, was Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg still has a bar of iron, inscribed to the effect that is was forged by his own hand as part of his efforts to improve shipbuilding. Interestingly, he learned his skills at what was the 'Silicon Valley' of shipbuilding and engineering in those days: Deptford and Chatham in North Kent, only a few miles from where this magazine is published. His general hands-on approach to everything and willingness to get his hands dirty not only helped him transform his navy, but made him able to turn his country into a major European nation. It is a pity that more captains of industry do not share the same attitude. It is also a pity that more use of is not made of the very considerable leading-edge engineering design talent, which still abounds here. TS