Around 200 people, including more than 100 design students from Yorkshire Coast College and Hull University's Scarborough Campus, attended yesterday's illustrated lecture.

Mr Seymour attended Scarborough Boys' High School and studied art and design at Scarborough Technical College, the forerunner of Yorkshire Coast College. His parents, who were at the talk, still live in Scarborough.

He is co-founder of Seymour Powell, a company which has created iconic products such as the cordless kettle and first ever pocketable mobile phone.

Mr Seymour said: "It's good to be back in Scarborough but it is unusual – I don't get back here very often.

"Scarborough has always been a creative town. When I was training there were fiercely creative individuals all around me and that doesn't go away."

Mr Seymour got together with other well-known design figures, including Peter Saville, co-founder of Factory Records, and Pat Schleger, wife of the pioneering Modernist graphic designer Hans Schleger, before moving on to the Whitby Art and Design Conference which ends today.
Pat Argent, a Scarborough-based graphic designer, who organised the Scarborough event, called Mr Seymour "the real James Bond" as he designs all his own gadgets.

He added: "I would like to thank Richard for another magnificent talk."
Kane Cunningham, course leader for fine art at Yorkshire Coast College's Westwood campus, took 60 students to the talk.
He said: "It was brilliant, an absolute inspiration. If it inspires just one of our students to become a designer that would be amazing."