Dyson Vacuum Cleaner Tops Industry Poll

The Dyson vacuum cleaner has emerged as the clear winner in an industry-wide review examining the current state of UK product design.

The study, carried out by PDM - the biggest trade event for UK product designers, sampled 270 industry stakeholders for their views.

It found the sector to be in good health with the UK firmly established as a leader in the global design industry, according to 83% of respondents.

More than 27% named the Dyson DC01, first launched in 1993, as a product which best exemplified this innovation in design.

These results confirm the reputation enjoyed by such star designers as Ron Arad, Tom Dixon, Ross Lovegrove and Sebastian Conran, but also underlines the global importance of UK industrial design groups, like PDD, Kinneir Dufort, IDC and DCA, to name but a few.

And plastics are a pre-eminent material in these groups' product designs.

In the survey, 82% agreed that "the use of plastics allows product designers to achieve a high degree of innovation in their designs".

This innovation is amply shown in Dyson vacuum cleaners, which make extensive use of various types of clear and coloured plastics in their iconic designs.

Alongside the Dyson Vacuum cleaner, design innovations in medicare, consumer electronics and automotive sectors, proved popular selections which included drug delivery and inhaler devices, the Apple iMac and the Smartcar.