Sir Kenneth Grange became a controversial point of conversation, with very contrasting opinions on the importance and quality of his work, at uni recently. A man with so many accolades, I found it hard to believe that none of his work was great and after looking into him I believe some of his work is great.
The way he speaks of his work is refreshing, making it very clear that most designs are not attributable to one person, and that he is part of a team. When discussing his work on the British Rail High Speed Train, he talks about how he just designed parts of it, and that working in large teams is one of his favourite parts of design. I feel often there is a tendency within the design world to give one person the credit for a design when most of the time they likely had a team behind them, who suffer through no credit.
Kenwood mixers are iconic kitchen staples. Grange worked on redesigning the original mixer in the 1960s and I love them. Their design hasn’t changed much over the years, and the shape and style are instantly recognisable. Most importantly though, they last. My grandmother's mixer must be at least 25 years old, and it still works perfectly.
Another iconic brand that Grange worked with was Parker. He was taken aboard in the 1970s when the company was struggling and his design did everything that Parker needed. It was cheap to produce, and more modern whilst still embodying the classic Parker style and being sturdy. The Parker 25 was a success in Europe and was introduced in America where it was also a hit, all helping towards Parker's success and still a surviving brand today.
Grange became the Design Director of Anglepoise in 2003 and since then has produced several lights for the company. They are simple designs but I like them, particularly the Type 74 Mini Wall Light and the Type 80 Table Lamp.
Overall I like his work, and it is very clear that the experts think he is very talented. His work may not be ground-breaking in the way come other designers’ is, but he has produced high-quality, practical, and aesthetically pleasing designs for over 70 years, and I think his work is deserving of the respect it gets.
V&A interview with Sir Kenneth Grange: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/an-interview-with-sir-kenneth-grange-product-designer
About the Parker 25: https://parkerpens.net/parker25.html
Anglepoise: https://www.anglepoise.com/product-category/sir-kenneth-grange/
Comments