Ben Thorpe is a product designer currently based in the North West of the UK.  He studied at the University of Central Lancashire, gaining a First Class Degree in BSc. Product Design in 2008 and then continuing on to gain an MA Design in 2010.  His major projects have been aimed at designing for disability, with his BSc. project the Switch & Ski and then the Urban Wheelchair, designed during his MA studies.  The Switch & Ski project received international acclaim, featuring in numerous worldwide design blogs.  It was also awarded ‘Best in Show’ at the 2008 UCLAN Degree Show and was named a ‘Curator’s Choice’ on the noisefestival website in November 2008, chosen by Tom Dixon, Head Designer at Habitat.

Ben aims to innovate through functional yet stylistic products, that fully confront the needs of the user and provide a solution to a problem that has not yet been addressed.  Design research is a major factor in any project Ben undertakes, as he places priority on immersing himself in the world of the end user so that he may fully understand and address their needs through design.

Ben believes that interdisciplinary collaboration is an invaluable way of approaching a project, and as such has collaborated on many projects with people from many different background, such as graphic design, advertising, illustration and construction and is hoping to continue this trend and meet and work with many more people in the future.