Makers and Facilitators

Meet Ben – Designer, Mentor, and Advocate for Better Hardware Product Development For over 30 years, Ben has helped turn ideas into real, reliable, and responsible products. He works with design teams to improve how products are developed — making the process faster, more thoughtful, and ultimately more successful. Ben’s approach is built on experience. He’s led teams through everything from early-stage prototyping to full-scale production, always focused on balancing speed with rigour. Rather than relying on rushed trial-and-error, he helps teams adopt smarter design and test methods that reduce risk, improve reliability, and lead to better outcomes. Earlier in his career, Ben was part of the senior leadership at two of the UK’s most respected design consultancies — IDC and PDD — where he worked with researchers, psychologists, and engineers to champion Human-Centred Design. He helped shape company-wide systems that met global quality standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, ensuring great ideas could be turned into real-world products with confidence. Today, through his company Interactual Limited, Ben supports clients working on everything from sustainable design and additive manufacturing to smart factories and circular economy models. He brings practical advice, technical depth, and a clear understanding of what it takes to turn complex challenges into commercially viable solutions. At heart, Ben cares about working with people who want to make things better — not just for the market, but for the world we live in.