Designer Interview
3 questions
I have alll been attracted to design since my earliest recollections. As a child I spent hours oin my father shop. He was a skilled craftsman and boat builder.
Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
I have alll been attracted to design since my earliest recollections. As a child I spent hours oin my father shop. He was a skilled craftsman and boat builder. I was especially intrigued with the half models that he sculped and was somehow made aware of the connection between the flowing beauty of the from with the ultimate functional requiements of the finished design.
I later went on to study hull design and through this I began to wonder about a broader application which of course turned out to be the pursuit of a career in Industrial Design.
I currently lead the Industrial Design and Human Factors efforts on many engineering projects at Benchmark Electronics, and am instrumental in generating concepts to drive development engineering initiatives. Since 2001 I have has effectively delivered direction and support to a vast array of projects in several key market segments which include: Medical, Industrial, Communications and Computer data storage.
Through balancing aesthetic values and user-centered design principles with the real world constraints of functional requirements, budget and the market forces, I have helped our company to be successful in producing marketable, manufacturable and award winning design solutions for a diverse customer base.
Prior to my current position at Benchmark Electronics Inc, I worked as an Industrial Designer in a number of design consultancies, including the Global Group Design Center (Office Systems and Contract Furniture) and Muller Design Group (Consumer products, Environmental Graphics, Way finding systems).
I graduated with distinction in Industrial Design from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
Benchmark cares – about the products it makes, the customers it serves, its employees, and suppliers. It all boils down to people.
We care about the products because we know the end-users are going to expect them to work the first time and every time, and in many cases improve their lives. But this can only happen if these products are designed and built correctly – this fact is always in the forefront of our thinking.
We care about and take care of our customers because that is our business. Our customer relationships are built on trust and the openness of a mutual partnership. We are a team striving for that win-win strategy providing a foundation for sustainable success for all stakeholders, including our customers’ customer, the end-user.
We care about our employees because we know that without them, we couldn’t fulfill our promises. We respect their abilities, and appreciate their contributions to making Benchmark what it is today. We know that a company is nothing more or less than the synergistic sum of all the people comprising it.
We care about our suppliers because they deliver the vital components of every product we make – literally the “stuff” which we assemble into useful devices and systems. Like our customers and employees, our suppliers are stakeholders contributing to a mutually beneficial relationship.
What is "design" for you?
Design is the function of art which allows communication between the object and subject; that which connects beings to forms.
