A janitor called Murray Spangler invented the vacuum cleaner in 1907. One year later he sold his patented idea to William Hoover, whose company went on to dominate the market. Now, the Dyson vacuum cleaner has jumped from nothing to a position where it dominates the market. The Dyson product dates back to 1978 when James Dyson designed a cyclone-based cleaner. It took five years and 5,000 prototypes before he had a working design. However, existing vacuum cleaner manufacturers were not as impressed – two rejected the design outright. So Dyson started making his new design himself. Within a few years Dyson cleaners were outselling the rivals that had once rejected them. The aesthetics and functionality of the design help to keep sales growing in spite of a higher retail price.

(a) What was Spangler’s mistake?

(b) What do you think makes ‘good design’ in markets such as the domestic appliance market?

(c) Why do you think the two major vacuum cleaner manufacturers rejected Dyson’s ideas?

(d) How did design make Dyson a success?