Stories have carried information across countless generations for thousands of years. Humans are wired for storytelling. Great designers and great design are often accompanied by great stories. While facts tend to fade stories tend to stick.

The James Dyson story is one of my favorite. He became frustrated with his Hoover Junior’s diminishing performance: dust kept clogging the bag and so it lost suction. While partly supported by his art teacher wife's salary, and after five years worth of prototypes, James Dyson launched the 'G-Force' cleaner in 1983.

Dyson first had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt. The idea of the cyclones came from the spray-finishing room's air filter in his Ballbarrow factory.

To Date, Dyson has made and sold roughly 25 million vacuums.

I give regular workshops on how to present ideas and why it's important. One student wrote up a great summary on her blog.