Ben Arent

Product Generalist

Currently in Oakland, CA

Blog Posts

  • Philippe Starck’s – School of Design. With BBC2.

    I got this e-mail though today and wanted to let all wannabe Product design superstars of a TV opertunity. I only have limited details with the official blurb being… “Internationally renowned designer Philippe Starck will be heading up a specially created School of Design in Paris. And he’s looking for untapped design talent in the UK to be his first students. Ten aspiring designers with the talent, drive and vision to create the next ‘must have’ products of the 21st Century will be given the unique opportunity to learn and work alongside Starck and his team over a period of...
    Read Philippe Starck’s – School of Design. With BBC2.

  • How to create a (magnetic) tangible user interface.

    One of the main components of my jive project was a tangible user interface, this was meant to be a RFID+TUI but I wasn’t able to create thin enough antennas to work in this manor. That is why there is a RFID Antenna on the middle stand. The tangible user interface uses Phidgets magnet sensors to sensors when a ‘friend pass’ is placed onto the screen. This then triggers one of three actionscripit animations, the initial design and implementation is really simple, but this is just the beginning. If you are an experienced AS3 coder and know anything about XMLsockets,...
    Read How to create a (magnetic) tangible user interface.

  • 2008 Summer Update. Coming Soon.

    Just a quick post to let everyone know that the website shall be being updated in the coming weeks. I have just finished my degree, and I’m in the process of creating a showcase mini-site for my final year project. This shall be hosted on this site. I can’t say much about the project as I’m currently applying for a couple of patents. Until then you can see a teaser about my exhibition at http://www.pdeproduce.com. I have a lot of posts that I would like to get on-line, I have a whole bunch of content to upload to the bog,...
    Read 2008 Summer Update. Coming Soon.

  • EnergyTree opening at TAG<>.

    I want to thank all of the great people at <>TAG, I had a great time showing my new products in the exhibition. The opening night was on Saturday and we had a short opening cermoney in which I introduced the tree. I was unable to make the ceramic containers that I wanted to, but my hacked muji containers which seemed to work very well. While there I got to meet some other great Artists, including Tiffany, (Exhibiting a environment promise, which in turn plants a virtual tree, and changes a dynamic image) Mike, (eco – firefox plug-in) and Beatriz...
    Read EnergyTree opening at TAG<>.

  • Using Phidget Sensors to trigger an animation in as3.

      After recently purchasing a Phidget 8/8/8 Interface kit I started to have some problem using these sensors to drive a flash as3 animation. The Phidget as3 examples are useful but don’t really give ‘real’ world examples for starting to use sensors to drive a flash animation. The solution was to create my own event handerler, this event handler is called in the onSensorChangeFunction, which triggers when there is a onSensorChange Event. You can download my a3 phidget slider example Phidget Magnet Example . import com.phidgets.*;<br /> import com.phidgets.events.*;<br /> import caurina.transitions.*; var phid:PhidgetInterfaceKit; phid = new PhidgetInterfaceKit(); phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.CONNECT,onConnect); phid.addEventListener(PhidgetEvent.DISCONNECT,...
    Read Using Phidget Sensors to trigger an animation in as3.

  • EnergyTree to be exhibited at <>TAG – March 22nd to the 2nd of May.

    I shall be exhibiting the EnergyTree at an EcoAesthetics exhibition at a galley called <>TAG its based in the Neterlands and the exhibition will be running for 2 months. I shall be going out on the 22nd for the opening ceremony. This shall be my first time exhibiting, and its great to start on an international stage. Watch this space for lots of exciting updates.  
    Read EnergyTree to be exhibited at <>TAG – March 22nd to the 2nd of May.

  • How to turn sketchs into quailty line drawings.

    In this quick how-to, I will go over how I turn hand drawn product design sketches into high quality line drawings. Below isn’t the best of my drawing skills, (its a range of thumbnail concepts, but we are focusing on the scan.)   Jump in to find out !   Step 1. Get the Right Pencil! Getting the right pencil is vital. My number one tip is use a COLOUR pencil, not a graphite pencil! The reason for this is because graphite easy smudges. Plus color pencils give a much better range of color, (from light to dark). At the...
    Read How to turn sketchs into quailty line drawings.

  • MADE. Material and Design Exchange

    I received a copy of the first MADE magazine today, Its a great magazine from the guys at London Materials and Design Exchange. Its around 60 pages and has some really great graphic design. It has a range of short articles all about how companys are using materials to create better products, architecture and everything in between. The magazine is free to all members of the Material and Design Exchange network and is being published 3 times a year. I guess that means if you want one you need to join,
    Read MADE. Material and Design Exchange

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