If you’ve ever lived in the UK, you’ve likely come across this little guy at some point.
Henry the vacuum cleaner is a design icon.
It’s a sturdy, robust vacuum cleaner—no better than others out there—yet it’s found its way into millions of homes around the UK, and one has even been spotted in the Downing Street press conference room!
This wonderful piece from the Guardian goes into the story behind Henry. I particularly like how Henry got his famous design.
“Chris Duncan was on a British stand at a Lisbon trade show. “It was as boring as sin,” he recalls. One evening, Duncan and one of his salesmen idly began to dress up their latest vacuum cleaner, first with a bit of ribbon, then with a union flag badge on what started to look a bit like a hat. They found some chalk and drew a crude smile under the hose outlet, which suddenly looked like a nose, then some eyes. Searching for a nickname that felt suitably British, they settled on Henry. “We put it over in the corner with all the other equipment and the next day people were laughing and pointing,” Duncan says. Back at Numatic, which then had a few dozen employees, Duncan asked his advertising guy to design a proper face for the cleaner.”
It’s a nice reminder that 1) magic can happen when we’re idly playing, and 2) what people laugh at can be a signal that we’re on to something!