Uptrend Epicenter: A chat with Graeme McPherson, Head of Haircare Product Development

Dyson

Address:

A-11-P1 & Mezz, Jaya One, 72A Jalan University, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

T: +603 7969 1313

Having opened under a name that has revolutionised home products, surely Dyson’s Technology Centre in Singapore is one to visit. Acting as a live engineering site where teams work tirelessly on the brand’s ‘next big thing’, research and development is right at the core of this buzzing hub. However, get this: any average joe gets a foretaste of Dyson’s revolutionary creations amongst the many technology and interactive lab spaces reserved for engineers and inventors!

At the very mention of the name “Dyson”, we all know that there is never a dull moment with its products. In fact, the overwhelming anticipation lies in not only its tech know-how, but also product aesthetics where consumer comfort has already been accounted for. With Dyson still a privately held establishment, the beauty of it all is also in the flexible production timeline. Rather than churn out products regularly just to keep shareholders happy, founder James Dyson wants his troop of engineers focused on making sure they get things right, be it through multiple prototypes or initial sketches.

Take the Dyson SupersonicTM hair dryer, for instance — it is the first in world to have a motor placed in a handle, hence allowing for a much shorter barrel and a shift of mass to the handle instead. It not only looks different; it’s been specifically engineered for balance. Congregated in this new facility are Dyson engineers as young as 24, and Head of Haircare Product Development at Dyson Singapore and Malaysia, Graeme McPherson, shares with us the privilege of immersing oneself in a working culture that’s constantly bursting with ideas.

Tell us about the Dyson Technology Centre in Singapore.
“The Singapore Technology Centre will focus on the interface where hardware meets software, where the open-plan work space encourages research and collaboration with one another, so there’s a lot of cross-disciplinary teams working together on projects. To make things more interesting – and this is where the magic happens – there’s the state-of-the-art Connectivity Studio. It’s basically a home setting where engineers put devices to the test whilst observing machines work in an actual home environment as well as communicate with users.”

What sort of experience can one expect upon entering the Dyson Technology Centre?
“As engineers at Dyson, our job is to develop solutions to everyday problems and frustrations. It may sound simple, but we need to seek inspiration from improbable places and combine clever engineering with bold design to achieve truly revolutionary products. Nonetheless, this process has plenty of stumbling blocks, so to inspire us, we have engineering icons dotted around the Dyson world. Here in Singapore we have a Mini Cooper; thanks to designer Sir Alec Issigonis’ ingenious thinking, we are able to see a fully functional car that has shrunk so much in size! It is this very same feeling that I hope visitors will experience once they explore the unique mindset us Dyson engineers adopt everyday.”

Dyson R&D by Gareth Phillips

Tell us your thoughts on today’s hair culture.
“People are attached to their hair, not just physically but emotionally too — a ‘bad hair day’ equals to a bad day. Being new to the business of beauty, we’ve realised the need to go back to basics, so we built our very own hair science lab and tested thousands of kilometres of hair to understand what would make a good hair day. By doing this, we were able to create a machine that results in healthy, glossy hair and is easier to style, no matter what the crop of the moment is.”

On one hand, you have long hair and there’s humidity on the other — how can the Dyson SupersonicTM help?
“The temperature and humidity in Singapore and Malaysia commonly leads to frizzy hair. The Dyson SupersonicTM, unlike conventional machines that blow out a lot of hot air, has a narrow and focused airflow that naturally helps reduce frizz and leaves behind a salon-style finish, even when you do it at home.”

How do you foresee Dyson SupersonicTM going down in history?
“Forgive me for being as bold to say so, but I think it already has; both the performance and form are revolutionary and these machines have been flying off the shelves worldwide. The Dyson SupersonicTM is the first of its kind to have the Dyson Digital V9 motor inside the hair dryer handle, and this was only made possible after over £50 million worth of R&D. In fact, this is the smallest motor we’ve ever created and it spins at 110,000 RPM; that is eight times faster than other equivalents and half the weight!”

Clue us into other products that are in the pipeline.
“We have 21 new machines currently in development outside of floor care and with Dyson’s investment commitment in design and engineering, the possibilities are endless… But I can’t tell you any more than that!”