Design Object

Kettles are a unique invention and everyday appliance, that allows us to heat up or boil water. The kettle is defined by Lexico as “[a] container or device in which water is boiled, having a lid, spout, and handle; a teakettle.” The water thereafter can be used to pour over food and make drinks from coffee to tea, instant noodle soup such as ramen, and many more items. According to an article by National High Magnetic Field Labratory’s educational website Magnet Academy, through the Center for Integrating Research & Learning (CIRL), through their on their Magnet Academy educational resource “[u]p to the 1920s, if you wanted to boil water, you needed an open fire and a kettle.” Kettles or similar shaped “vessels” (Magnet Academy) have developed over time from cast-iron to copper, Polypropylene, Stainless Steel, and glass as materials commonly used.

From a mass-produced perspective, more kettles today are made with a form of plastic, more conducive metal like copper, stainless steel, and glass. In order to improve heat efficiency, some tea kettles and products functioning as alternatives to the traditional kettle use magnets. The first design of the electric kettle was first seen “from Carpenter Electric Company in Chicago in 1891 Magnet Academy), only until the “1920s [by] the Swan Company” was a design flaw solved for the kettle, that initially caused the “[water to take] more than 10 minutes to come to a boil.”

The electric kettle in comparison to the whistling kettle, allowed for a more energy efficient design. In comparison with the whistling kettle that kept on boiling, “until someone turns down the heat,” the electric kettle would have a ‘“cut-out’” mechanism that would prevent the device from continuing to heat. The process is described below:

“Here's how an electric kettle works: Electricity moves through an element of high resistance, which generates heat that it transfers to the water. At the moment the temperature of the liquid reaches 100 degrees Celsius, its boiling point, the resulting steam warms a strip composed of two dissimilar kinds of metal, which curves due to the fact one of the metals expands more rapidly. The heating connection is then broken, preventing electricity from reaching the element, effectively shutting off the kettle. Such a safety feature prevents the scalding water from becoming a hazard if the person tending it becomes distracted and neglects the steaming appliance. The "cut-out" device represents a significant advantage over whistling kettles, which keep boiling, and whistling, until someone turns down the heat.

One of the most recognized kettles’ that has come out of the design aesthetics of the 1980s, is that of the Alessi 9093 kettle designed by the “Princeton-based postmodern architect Michael Graves” (Kamp) July 9, 1934 - March 12, 2015, for the Italian design company Alessi, that manufactures everyday products with a focus on “translat[ing] creative expressions into real objects” (Alessi). Made in 1985, the aesthetic of the kettle is that of the kettle is a “mirror polished stainless steel” (the Design Museum) exterior and an “iconic bird-shaped whistle that sings when your water has reached a boil” MOMA. It has been so marketable for its distinct design due to its geometric character and architectural feel, according to Alessi’s website Graves’s design “mixes the influences taken from European Art, American Pop and quotes from pre-Columbian cultures.” The Design Museum states that “approximately 1.5 million units” of the kettle were sold. The design is made with “18/10 stainless steel and thermoplastic resin” (Alessi). Another example of a kettle with a similar design aesthetic is the Sowden Kettle. Designed by George Sowden, one of the founders of the design collective, Memphis Group” (HAY) for danish design company HAY. The kettle in contrast to the Alessi 9093 kettle’s more cone shaped geometry, features a more cylindrical body. Ettore Sottsass’s teakettle, colleague to Sowden and another founder of The Memphis Group, has a similar design style. Sottsass conceived the design in 1988 for “Danish kitchen company [Bodum]” (MOMA). The design is made with Polypropylene (PP) and Stainless Steel. These kettles resemble an aesthetic style that was popular during the 1980s, popularized by designers of the time and in adddition, influenced by designers from the Memphis Group. From everywhere across the globe, the kettle has been continuously innovated from a design and technological perspective. The Kettle continues to be part of the conversation, as it's versatility, and continued creative innovation for the product, has made it a vastly popular everday device. Below are a collection of kettles, from different designers and studios, each within different design aesthetics.

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