Inventing Advice from “The Steve Jobs of Industrial Design,” James Dyson

James Dyson is a British inventor, with a net worth of $4.5 billion, is best known as being the founder of Dyson. James is best known for his invention of the bagless vacuum cleaner and today you can find Dyson products in almost every household. Dubbed the Steve Jobs of Industrial Design, James Dyson has used creative industrial design services over the years to make him the success he is today.

James Dyson, with his invention, the blade-less fan.

James is an inspiration to inventors near and far and over his years of innovating he has gone through many ups and downs, just like any inventor, using many industrial design services to create his world-renowned creations. The one thing however that he never did was gave up when going got tough.

In an interview with Inc., James shared that in order to be a successful inventor you need to not only believe that there is always a better way of doing something but also, understand that you likely won’t get it exactly right the first time. It took James developing 5,127 prototypes using various industrial design services for the first bagless vacuum cleaner and we’re sure he’s glad he never gave up.

Here are some pieces of advice around failure and overcoming it by yours truly that we find to be super inspiring for any inventor.

“I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure.”

James Dyson with several blade-less fan prototypes.

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, or dangerous. Explore several industrial design processes to get you to the right solution. Watching why your invention fails can take you on a completely different path.

“Everyone gets knocked back, no one rises smoothly to the top without hindrance. The ones who succeed are those who say, right, let’s give it another go.”

Without perseverance, persistence, and some creative industrial design services, James Dyson may not be the grand success he is today. So let that serve as motivation for you as we kick off 2018 in a big way!

What inventors inspire you? Share below in the comments!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!