DT07 – Sir Kenneth Grange

For this weeks Design & Technology slot we were all tasked to make a short presentation on a specific designer that we had previously been allocated by our PDE4 tutor, Hugh. The format of the presentation was what Hugh had named, the “Pichi Kichi”; a shortened version of the traditional “Pecha Kucha” consisting of 20 slides, each for 20 seconds. The “Pichi Kichi” would be 10 slides, each for 10 seconds. Overall, I found it quite a challenging task to condense a presentation into only 100 seconds. However here is a short abstract about Sir Kenneth himself:

Sir Kenneth Grange is a British Industrial Designer often called the godfather of UK product design. His detailed and obsessed approach has seen him hone everything from cameras to cars and desk lamps to trains. Trains like the Intercity 125, designed in 1976, were the first high-speed trains to go into service in the UK that were capable of hitting speeds of up to 125mph in regular service.

Kenneth is also often branded as being responsible for modernising UK product design. He has built this name with his ‘user centred’ and functional approach to design. He has imposed his modernist style whilst working for many major brands such as Kenwood, Parker and Kodak to list a few.

Kenneth is also quintessentially British and describes himself as being from a typical, working class background filled with beige and brown interiors and tasselled furniture. With this he has also left his mark on some extremely British products including the Royal Mail post box, but potentially the most iconic of all being the original TX1 London Taxi designed in 1997.

In 2003 he showed no signs of slowing down and was appointed design director at Anglepoise and has influenced many products since, including the type 75 desk lamp (pictured below). Kenneth now likes to exercise his mind, based around the dis-satisfaction of current products and how he can improve them. An example of this is his recent re-design of the pint glass for Camden Town Brewery last year. (pictured below)

So to summarise, turning 90 this year and after almost 6 decades of doing design, Sir Kenneth Grange is definitely an inspiration to me!