Ben Arent

Product Generalist

Currently in Oakland, CA

Blog Posts

  • Design City. Cardiff.

    the cardiff tower. Santa and Cole Lights, in a lobby in Cardiff. Pretty swanky urianls Awesome Tiger carved in Stone. Large wooden  clock above market. A very interssting designed stoll. I spend Thursday in Cardiff, the capitial of Wales. The city has some very strong archieture, with a great display from modern to the medival castle.  The obove is some of the more modern designs of the very young fresh city. I really recommend checking out Cardiff if you get the chacne.
    Read Design City. Cardiff.

  • Book Review. Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design. By Bill Buxton

    After spending a couple days on a train I got the chance to read my latest design book. Book Review. Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design. By Bill Buxton. This book is a deep look at a product design techniquie, but in the lanuage for technical software / user interface designers.  The first half of the book is all about sketching, and covers some product design history. He talks though this by showing mountain bike, and orange juice case studys.  The 2nd part of the book (pages 234 and after) is all about diffent technics...
    Read Book Review. Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design. By Bill Buxton

  • My Industrial Work Placement: Resolute, Seattle.

    I have just completed my years (10 months) work placement at Resolute, an arcertical lighting design firm. The work placement was part of degree which is 4 year sandwich. This just means that I work for a year before my last year, I would recommend this to all undergrdautes as you are going to have to end out working eventily, a work placemnet will give you an option to see what the industry is really like, and what your strenghts are. At Resolute I had a rought 3 phase workplan, this consited of. **Full Imerisoin: **Working in all areas of...
    Read My Industrial Work Placement: Resolute, Seattle.

  • Designers are wankers. By Lee McCormack

    I found this book in the Museum of Modern Art in SanFran, yet the book is written by Lee McCormack an English Designer. The book will teach any designer what you will learn on placement and that Is that industry sees ‘Designers as wankers’. The book talks about how to work with industry and manufactures. The book follows Lee’s multimedia Pod, and how he struggled filling orders and getting componets from manufacuteres. Lee addresses how to approach these industries and how to protect yourself and your ideas. The book finishes with review from top designs, Paul Smith, Jason Kirk, Karmin...
    Read Designers are wankers. By Lee McCormack

  • cheap but good. the UK Addicted to Cheap Shopping?

    Addicted to Cheap Shopping? Most people believe that prices are constantly rising, but in reality the cost of most consumer goods have been drastically falling over the past 10 years. Libby Potter crosses three continents to reveal how ‘cheap’ has changed the world. In America she visits the busiest mall on earth – which can house 32 jumbo jets – and the small town where one store revoluntionised the way everything is now sold. In Europe, she meets shopaholics and sees how one retailer totally transformed how we buy. She also goes shopping in the ‘citadel of cheap’ – the...
    Read cheap but good. the UK Addicted to Cheap Shopping?

  • product design magazines

    The internet is a great resource for finding out news, but sometimes its nice to have the information in your hand. These are my top ten magazines for product designers to read. (and top 5 to not!) Design Week <p style="text-align: center"> </p> Design Week <br clear="all" /></li> * I.D.<img src="/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/id.thumbnail.jpg" alt="id.jpg" class="imageframe imgalignleft" align="left" height="200" width="200" /> I.D. <br clear="all" /> * Business Week * Wallpaper * Creative Review</ol> 1. Blueprint
    Read product design magazines

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