Chocolate lovers are still in a state of shock after it was announced that Toblerone is to be redesigned for the UK market.
Yes, against a backdrop of rising costs for ingredients, the famous chocolate bar’s Alpine peaks are being eroded and a less majestic bar will be sold for the same price.
Thankfully, changing the shape of products that have become part of our everyday lives is not always bad news.
And it’s engineers who are to be congratulated for shaping a future that’s full of truly revolutionary ideas: everything from handheld computers to electric cars that can actually go places.
So let’s meet the engineers who’ve played a starring role in reshaping life through the magic of engineering.
Let there be light
This was an actual lightbulb moment. Samuel Wilkinson’s twisted fluorescent glass tubes won a prestigious D&AD Black Pencil award. Not only do his bulbs offer different silhouettes, depending on where you’re standing, they use 80% less energy than an incandescent bulb, making everyone feel less angry.
The i’s have it
It’s not only Toblerones that are changing in size. Industrial designer Sir Jonathan Ive gave us three product lines where size matters, kicking off in 2001 with the iPod, followed in 2007 by the first iPhone, then, of course, the iPad and iPad Mini. All of these gadgets have been real game changers.
A sucker for innovation
Another game changer came when in the 1970s James Dyson was inspired by a cyclone system in a sawmill which led to developing a bagless vacuum cleaner. After 5,000 prototypes he perfected the DC01. In 2014, he introduced his 360 Eye robotic cleaner, which is controllable through a mobile app.
Strike the right chord
In 1948 Leo Fender was instrumental (sorry!) in developing the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar in 1948. He called it the Fender Broadcaster but later renamed it the Telecaster. A Precision Bass followed, then the Stratocaster – the axe of choice for the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.
Another bright idea
We have the anglepoise lamp thanks to one George Carwardine, a car designer whose work on vehicle suspension systems helped inspired him to create the four-spring mechanism that defines the lamp’s flexible body. Today many different versions are still to be found all across the world.
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