Remembering a Design Legend

Kenneth Grange (1929-2024) might not be a household name, but his designs have been part of our lives for decades. The Intercity 125 Train, the Kenwood Chef and the Kodak Instamatic Camera to name a few. Grange was one of the founding partners of Pentagram, the design studio that still looms large in the design world. He also produced lamps for the iconic Anglepoise and pens for Parker.

His career spanned over 60 years and his influence was felt around the world, designing a typewriter for the Japanese for instance, but it is his mark on English design that can still be felt. His love of form and function were utilised for London taxi cabs and red Post Office postboxes.

Reading the various tributes for him online, Grange seemed to be a warm fellow who had an air of humility about him, known for his playful take on Modernism, he was motivated by desire to make things better, an admirable quality to be sure.

“No one and nothing is perfect – Improvement is the only responsible approach one can take in design as in life.”

(Images: Above; Kenneth Grange at home in 2014, next to one of his hugely successful Anglepoise lamp designs. Photograph: Joel Redman via The Guardian. Title image; combination of Grange’s works, images from Anglepoise.)