Hi, author here.
I've owned kettles with lights (and I like them). I've owned kettles that beep (and I don't mind it at all). Believe me when I tell you, that section of my article was not over-the-top. On the first day, I sat on the couch (about 7 meters away from the kettle) and the light of the kettle shone so brightly in my eye that my first thought was that someone was flashing a laser into my eyes through the window.
I have a nearly 20 year old T-Fal kettle that I keep waiting to fail so I can replace w/ one that allows me to adjust the temperature but the thing just keeps working. Seriously, 20 years, used 2-5 times/day.
Amazon sells the T-fal BF6138 for $33 in the US. It has a window to see water levels, temp control, and a scale filter. Warning: the scale filters on mine only last 8-10 years. But I can't complain.
I’ve had blue lights that black sharpie could not dim.
The solution for those is black nail polish. Dirt cheap, easy to apply since it’s more of a goo than a liquid which you apply it by a brush that comes with the bottle, and it’s completely impervious to any sort of light shining through in one coat. If you’d like some light to see if the thing is on or off, apply a thinner coat.
It completely solved my aggressive LEDs on things problem.
That black kettle on the left of your photo is sold in US as "Fellowes". Notice how closely to the knob the venting steam flows? I've burnt myself a few times that way. An asymmetrical knob could remind the user of the safe grasp angle -- but then off course it wouldn't look so "minimal" in photos ...
