Deconstructing Product Design

9093 Kettle

Michael Graves for Alessi, 1985

1. When Alberto Alessi approached Michael Graves to produce a “functional” kettle, the second of its designer kettle series, he did so with a well-defined set of requirements, including the need for it to whistle. Graves had to work within these rigid requirements to produce a final design — one that ultimately became Alessi’s best-selling product and spawned a family of related items. What is it about this playful kettle, priced high for its category at over $100, that has so intrigued consumers? Michael Graves comments: “Architectural and product designs have a narrative capacity — you can start to tell a story about them and imagine a lot of things. The Alessi bird kettle has a personality, with ...