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Who designed the Vornado fan and how was its form inspired by jet engines?
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Industrial design
Octagonal electric teakettle of hammered silver, with cane-wicker handle, designed by Peter Behrens for AEG (Allgemeine ElektricitÀts Gesellschaft), Berlin, c. 1909.
The Vornado fan was designed by the American industrial designer Richard Ten Eyck for the O.A. Sutton Corporation in Wichita, Kansas, around 1945â59.1
Ten Eyck, who had previously worked for the Beech Aircraft Company, drew upon his background in the aerospace industry to inform the fan's design. The Vornado fan was engineered to push a concentrated funnel of air, directly emulating the turbines found in jet engines. This innovative approach to airflow, combined with its sleek aesthetic, helped the product become an icon of the Atomic Age of design.1