"Welcome to about me section. This is to go along with my welcome video. This website is all about Me, a 3rd Year Product Design Student. The world of Product Design has seemed to have changed a lot since my start in 2004. In 2006 Innovation and Design was the number one field for business week. From this site you should be able to see my work, my process and my current experiences"
Who's Ben Arent?
Ben is an undergraduate product designer at Middlesex University. This website is dedicated to his Design work, but who am I? I'm a 21 male, currently living in Seattle on a Year internship working at an Arerthical lighting company called Resolute. I have always been a tinkered with anything, and am a natural problem solver. I'm pretty much like any 21 year old, I enjoy 'life' to the full, doing such things as Kite surfing, Mountain Boarding, Training for a Triatherlon and traveling.
What is Ben Arent About?
I would like to think that I'm about it all. I try to not see myself as a typical designer. I prefer an IDEO way of thinking about my design process, and believe that as Product Designer I'm a master of all trades, and a explorer of everything. This constant exploring of the new, and trying to create professional products, experiences and polished skills is always hard.
I believe that Product Design has changed a lot since I even started my Degree, and I see me being about
- Ecological Design
- User Experience
- Innovation (In all senses of the word)
Why did you make benarent.co.uk?
I have been creating website for over 7 years now and being the first generation to really grow up with the Internet as we know it today I wanted to give back to the internet's create a portfolio site and also make an online repository for my thoughts, work, views and experiences.
I hope to create a more complete site, as the site evolves I want to educate and both learn about Product Design and what the role of the 21st product designer is today. You can read my blog, view my ideas, read about 'my' process or just Digg till you can't Diff no more.
Where would you like to be in 5 years?
This is a question i don't know if I will ever answer. I don't' see my self as a traditional product designer, my skills in Engineering and Sketching isn't that of the 1st class Product Designers. Yet, what I believe I have is an multidisplany knowledge with a keenness to become an entrepreneur I don't ever think I could go into business as sticking to one idea seems a was with so many. Yet, there are areas that I'm interested and are something along these lines.
- Interaction Design:
The Digital Revolution has just started, and I want to create useful interaction products, not just fridges that tell you are out of milk. - Ecological Design:
That thing called the environment is dieng pretty fast, and all we can do is create 190 different styles of hair straighter. As product designers, we are just feeding peoples need to consume. We all need products, but I believe the product designer could have more to do with the Ecological aspects of there design. - Action Sports Design:
The reason why Action sports drives me to it, is as it was Mountain boarding that lead me to product design. I reason I would want to work in the Action Sports industry is the people. Everyone is so passionate, so friendly from consumers to suppliers. Everyone just gets it, and there is a lot less hassle than working with the politics of Furniture / Lighting Design which is 'just a little' to pretentious for my taste. Yet maybe I could change that?