Blast from the Past - James Dyson Interview

An Interview with the Illusive James Dyson

Ever heard of Sir James Dyson, the 69-year-old British inventor and master-mind behind the Dyson brand of technology? An industrial designer by accidental profession, he is best known for inventing the world’s first ever bag-less vacuum cleaner in 1983, and for coming out with the bladeless fan technology, as well as the supercharged hand-dryer you would find in many public toilets.

Sir James Dyson, showcasing his bag-less vacuum cleaner

We were engaged by Dyson to represent the brand’s publicity initiatives in Malaysia. One of the things we did was obtaining an exclusive interview for James with The Star newspaper, to which we successfully garnered three (3) pages worth of coverage. Not much on its own but, this was rewarding because James rarely conduct interviews with any publication, nor does he address the public by himself in many circumstances. What’s more, turning down interviews was second nature to him, even for media in his own country (UK). Convincing him to talk to a local publication and actually reach out to an audience in a different part of the world from where he resides, proved to be a memorable milestone for us.

Through the interview, James shared his experience as an inventor while offering insights and tips that were useful to young and aspiring engineers. For James, firm decision and persistency remain an important element when approaching innovation, as without a strong spirit and the will to proceed, a new innovation can never be born.

James Dyson, along with the blade-less fans manufactured by Dyson Technology

James also revealed that an invention requires small changes to be made at every step of the way in order to obtain a conclusive answer as to what works and what doesn’t. His mentor, Jeremy Fry threw him in at the deep end from the get-go, allowing him to make his own mistakes and learning new lessons from them. These experiences had shaped James’s outlook and approach towards invention and innovation, and it led to the birth of a range of sleek looking products under the Dyson initial, such as the V8, Supersonic, and Pure Cool.

Dyson V8, Dyson Pure Cool and Dyson Supersonic

James revolutionised the engineering industry by creating solutions to our daily problems, such as the bag-less vacuum cleaner to counter-mend the suction problem of conventional vacuum cleaners. The project to net Dyson a coverage with a local publication wasn’t an easy feat as Dyson has yet to build a strong foothold in the Southeast Asia region. It was a challenging experience for Orchan, but the reward was an appeasing one.

Coverage of James’s interview published on The Star