Documentary series reappraising everyday items. 1 of 3: Bras have an extremely complex design, yet this essential garment has remained almost unchanged since its invention in 1914. Seymour and Powell set out to find a replacement for the underwire, the part which causes most discomfort.
Industrial designers Richard Seymour and Dick Powell attempt a radical redesign of the humble lavatory which has not changed since its inception over 200 years ago. They identify the toilet's main shortcomings as being uncomfortable, difficult to clean and hard for men to aim at. The designers visit Japan to investigate toilets in that country, where they find automatic lids, built in deodorisers, heated seats, and electronic sounds to hide the sounds when the toilet is being used. They even find a model which washes, dried and massages the user, and another model which has a microbiological coating on the ceramic which kills bacteria and loosens waste so it flushes away without staining. Those featured in the programme include Professor Alexander Kira, who has studied bathroom behaviour for over forty years, and Charles Kyriacou and Alex Gemmel of toilet manufacturers Shires, the company who will put the new design into production.
Documentary following the project by top industrial designers Richard Seymour and Dick Powell to redesign the electric car for Norwegian manufacturers Pivco.
Every year millions of us jet off to exotic holiday destinations. But before we get there, we endure many hours of cramped discomfort on long haul economy flights. The airlines face unprecedented commercial pressure to carry the maximum number of passengers. So people are crammed into economy airline seats without sufficient legroom or space to recline. This is not just undesirable, it can cause serious health problems. Reviewing the cramped conditions, designer Richard Seymour remarks: "Crushed from the side, uncomfortable in recline, uncomfortable upright - I think I’d really rather walk across the Atlantic than travel long haul in seats like these." He and his partner Dick Powell share grievances with a group of seasoned economy travellers. "I usually spill something, I end up with a lapful of orange juice," says one user. "I get tremendous cramp in the calf," says another. "Once your feet swell, you can’t put your shoes back on," says a third. Despite the limitations they face in terms of space and weight on aircraft, designers Seymour Powell resolve to design a better economy airline seat.
Burglar alarms are big business in the UK. But despite all the emerging technologies and new products in home security, more than 1.5 million people a year suffer a break-in to their homes, according to Home Office figures. It appears that many home security systems are so difficult for the user to operate that they are not switched on. "The only security system that is ever going to work is one that you use," observes designer Richard Seymour. Seymour and his partner Dick Powell visit government test centre, the Building Research Establishment, to assess current home security solutions. The CCTV, sensor and smoke technologies they test are ingenious, but the duo quickly identify the shortcomings in terms of everyday use. Alarms go off suddenly by accident when you don‘t want them to, there are pin numbers to remember, and the act of setting the alarm is a constant psychological reminder that danger lurks. All of these factors discourage homeowners from using their alarms. Also, most systems only detect burglars when they are already inside the property. Seymour Powell are convinced there must be a better way to stop the burglar.
Every morning millions of men try to remove the stubble on their chins by wet shaving with a tempered blade or by using an electric razor which shaves through a protective foil. Neither solution quite does the job. Wet shaving gives a close shave but it takes considerable time and effort, a sinkful of water and shaving foam, when you want to fly out the door to work. Also, many men simple cut themselves to shreds. The electric shaver is more convenient, it lets you shave quickly anywhere and can be more forgiving to the skin. But as designer Dick Powell remarks, "You don’t get so good a shave with an electric. It’s clear there’s a foil between the blade and the hair it is cutting." Powell and his partner Richard Seymour visit an expert barber for a really close shave. They are impressed with the way he wields his blade but admit that few people have 40 minutes a day to spend in a barber’s chair. "If only we could embody that skill in an object," observes Seymour, "that would be bloody brilliant." So the challenge is set: to design a new razor that gives a really smooth shave swiftly and easily without all the blood and fuss of wet shaving.
hopping trolleys are used by millions of customers each week, yet they steer like bicycles on ice and won’t go where they are pointed. The problem with these indispensable but wayward machines is that the four floating castors, which allow them to move in any direction, also make it impossible to keep the trolley on the straight and narrow. "A law unto itself" is how designer Richard Seymour describes the behaviour of the shopping trolley, especially on a slope. Seymour and his partner Dick Powell visit a local supermarket to ask shoppers what they think of the current struggle with the trolley. They are vocal in their criticism. "I can’t get it to go straight," says one. "You have to use a lot of force," says another. "It’s worse outside when you have to negotiate ramps," says a third. The shopping trolley may have revolutionised the modern shopping experience, but Seymour Powell decide that it’s time for a better solution.
The kitchen bin is a part of our lives. We use it maybe a dozen times a day and its design problems swiftly become self-evident: the lid quickly becomes stained and soiled, and the rubbish bags are very difficult to lift and remove from the bin, especially if you are not young and fit. As designer Richard Seymour observes: "Emptying a kitchen bin must rank alongside changing nappies and open heart surgery for the worst, nastiest, messiest things you could ever want to do." Thousands of kitchen bin products exist on the market, mainly low-cost items with swing lids, lift lids etc, but the problems associated with the product are so well-known that they have become a joke. "Bean stains on the swing bin are one of those things you laugh about when you talk about it," declares Seymour. "But we live with these things every day and they’re just not good enough. So what a great challenge - there’s got to be a better bin."
Design consultants Richard Seymour and Dick Powell confront the ferry life jacket, one of the most critically important objects used by people in which innovation can literally make the difference between life and death. They meet Paul Barney, a survivor of the Estonia ferry disaster of 1994, Europe’s worst shipping accident since the Second World War, which claimed 852 lives. Barney survived that terrible night, but with no thanks to his life jacket; amid the panic of the unfolding disaster, he struggled to put on because he couldn’t understand how it worked. At the Fleetwood Offshore Survival Centre, Seymour and Powell are put through an emergency drill. As they test existing life jackets before plunging into the depths, they recognise the problems. Life jackets aren’t really jackets at all but, due to the requirements of buoyancy and of stowing on ferries, they are unfamiliarly-shaped objects that are difficult to put on at speed when you are scared in the dark. Their design has been blamed for causing unnecessary deaths in recent ferry disasters. The designers are convinced that there must be a better life jacket.
