DC24 Vacuum Cleaner

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2009

A lion for the king – the lightness of innovation
Leonardo da Vinci, the “Uomo Universale” and master of many disciplines including painting and sculpting, was commissioned to construct a mechanical lion in 1515 for the occasion of the French king’s coronation: this automaton, it is said, could walk forward and then open its chest to reveal a cluster of lilies to the king. Da Vinci’s mechanical experiments display a high degree of persuasiveness, as they appear logical and clear to any beholder. Making technology simpler, to rethink it and make it more effective, is also the design maxim of Sir James Dyson. In particular, his design idea for a vacuum cleaner that makes use only of centrifugal forces to capture dust and dirt and does away with the need for a dust bag, changes the way we understand the shape and mechanism of a vacuum cleaner. Dyson vacuum cleaners are functional and easy to handle. They are transparent, unabashedly reveal their interior, and impart a friendly appearance. An interpretation that is as surprising as it is consistent, is now presented with the DC24: featuring a design centred around a ball, it once more breaks new ground in terms of ergonomics and functionality. Designed as a lightweight upright, it does away with wheels and its motor sits directly inside the ball. Since the DC24’s centre of balance lies exactly between the suction body and the suction foot, it is very easy to steer and light in handling, reducing muscle strain in its user. Its cleaning performance too is highly effective: its motorised brush-bar captures even ground-in dirt on carpets and can be turned of for cleaning hard floors. The concept of this vacuum cleaner also features other benefits in daily use, since it can be folded together and weighs only 5.4 kg – it is thus also an exemplary metaphor for the possible “lightness” of the new.