Graduate Showcase is a regular feature on design droplets that aims to help recent graduates (within the last year) get their name out into the wider design community. Graduate Showcase is a series of questions that seek to showcase who they are as a designer and where they are be headed. If you would like to be featured in Graduate Showcase then let us know via the contact page. Alternatively if you are a prospective employer and would like to get in touch with one of our Graduate Showcasees then let us know via the contact page.
Ben’s coroflot folio
1. Welcome to Design Droplets, Please give us a quick rundown on yourself.
I’m Ben Landau, a 23 year old recent graduate of RMIT Industrial Design. I’m interested in exhibition, experience, interactive and theatre design. I moved to Melbourne for the course and previously lived in Canberra. I have travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, America and Australia, of course.
2. How did you end up in design?
Neither of my parents are arty or designers, but they are definitely ‘patrons’ of the Arts. I grew up going to exhibitions, theatre shows and concerts and I think this fostered a love of all things creative. I had a particularly influential teacher in school who allowed me to explore the potentials of my drawing, CAD and designing skills. In fact, 8 out of 12 people from his class have ended up studying architecture or design.
I’ve recently become interested in Theatre Design: combining my interests of Theatre and Design. It’s an incredibly rewarding process of (almost) limitless creativity and the opportunity to create a completely alternate reality. It’s a very powerful position, and one which I think is very rewarding.
3. Can you tell us a bit about your latest project? or a favorite project of yours?
A favorite and recent project is Bald Bowls. It’s a process which asks bald men to mould each other’s domes in plaster and then slip cast them in porcelain. Through research with a group called the League of Bald Headed Men, I found that balding is an experience of loss, and can result in some depression and trauma. Bald men find comfort in merely spending time together through the League, and in Bald Bowls this is highlighted by the act of producing a bowl which becomes a symbol of their acceptance and eventual embrace of balding. The project draws methods from clay group art therapy and was recently carried out with some great bald volunteers. One participant concluded that ‘a group of bald men having their heads moulded or sharing in a common activity … and celebrating their baldness could be very cathartic for some people that find it [balding] difficult.’ It was a fun and rewarding project.
4. What role do you think design/designer’s will play in the next 10 years?
I believe that the task of designers is to make life richer, whatever that might entail. From crafting beautiful handbags for the well-to-do to designing ergonomic wheelchairs for disabled people. Designers will continue to respond to the challenges of life, society and environment among other factors to continue to make life richer. I think sustainability will continue to influence business decisions. Those who make smart choices earlier will reap the benefits later. The recent recession will create a new market of even more price conscious consumers, which will have a marked effect on the massed luxury goods sector – probably time it slowed down anyway! Strong manufacturing countries like China will continue to bully for resources, and will need designers to make oil into plastic products. Throughout all this change, designers will be needed to connect people with the world they live in, as more people expect better design. So the role of the designer will not change, just the possibilities.
5. What do you think design currently contributes to society?
Society and the environment we live with increasingly crowded for designs shouting out for attention. At best I’d like to believe that design makes people’s live better, but in reality it creates a lot of junk (including physical products and ephemeral advertising).
6. Which part of the design industry do you think you will venture into?
Experience design allows me to create a moment where someone understands something. A human centered product, exercise or system can be designed to have any effect desirable. Ideally I’d like to use human centred design to create products or systems which are inherently useful and pleasurable. I can also see myself in Theatre and Exhibition Design, both which use themes and ideas to convey a message.
7. What is your favorite design tool? (traditional, software, hardware or something else?)
A pen. Or a pencil. Its easy to become attached to software to explain yourself but its vital to be able to communicate ideas on the spot with an HB and ream of paper.
8. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I research a lot with text, images, and video – primarily on the internet but also in libraries. I like to see and experience a lot of design so I go to talks, conferences, exhibitions, shows and shops. I note methods I develop, discuss with others or read about in a book – my ‘toolbox’ of methods which I draw out from time to time to help me with tricky design problems.
9. How do you keep up to date with the latest happenings in the industry?
Internet mostly. Email subscriptions, blogs and rss.
10. Do you have a favorite design, designer or design studio?
I admire many aspects of designer’s work in many fields of design. I like the cheeky design of droog, the innovation and cultural sensitivity of the Jaipur Foot, and interactive theatre work by Synarcade.
11. Can you give us an idea of the processes you go through to create a new idea, design or concept?
It depends largely on the project. Initially a lot of research through papers, images and videos for pure aesthetic work. For human centered research I might conduct a survey or active research. I use a lot of sketching, mind mapping, lists, pros and cons, brainstorming and analyzing problems. Then come up with problems/themes/issues/ideas/opportunities and try and combine these in concepts, all of which directly answer the brief and are viable solutions (not one design and 4 fillers). I often make maquettes or simple models to generate or test ideas. From here it is about refinement and use, because for it to be realized needs to be user centered. I use CAD for final stages.
12. What would be your dream project?
It would be a human centred experience where I have the chance to be involved in all stages of development. It would challenge me with difficult problems where solutions need to be tested and refined. It would be a rewarding experience for the user/audience.
13. What are your five all time favorite books, magazines or websites? Why?
I like Core77 and Designboom for keeping up to date with design happenings. Stylepedia
14. What and where was the last awesome meal you ate?
Paella at Robbie Burns on Smith St in Melbourne.
15. Thanks for privileging Design Droplets with this opportunity to interview you, any final thoughts or what piece of advice would you give to someone embarking on a journey into the world of design?
I think it’s a bit early for me to be giving advice. If I had to it would be to never pass up an opportunity and always keep a copy of what you’ve done.
