I am an opportunity detective: I find ways in which digital products can better meet the needs of people. I've advised teams across the world on what and how to design products.
I'm helping organisations craft the vision for their products, and inspire better process and practise internally. I've been speaking on the topic of what I learned in healthcare, voice, and how slowing down can help you speed up. I've given these talks around the world, at industry events and internally for large organisations.
From 2018 to 2020, I worked at Babylon Health, first as a Director of Design, and then Director of Product. I led a large team of 100 designers, clinicians, data scientists, and engineers on AI-based products worth $100m+.
As a design strategist based in the UK, I’ve spent countless hours watching people use digital products; I unearth hidden truths about what people really need from them. I excel at lighting fires – I help teams imagine a better future, put a plan in place to get there, and help them to stay focussed on making it a reality.
I’ve spoken at dozens of events and companies around the world (The Economist, The NEXT Conference, VW / Audi, UX London, Penguin Random House, UX Scotland, Reakt Breakpoint Helsinki, Smart Voice Summit, amongst others). I enjoy speaking about the potential of design, voice, healthtech, possible futures, strategy, ethics, and team culture.
I’ve mentored startups and junior designers in product and better design practises. I’ve created new methods to design and prototype, as used by teams at Amazon and the BBC.
"Ben has the rare ability to both captivate and educate an audience, leaving them happier and smarter in the process."
Andy Budd, Event Curator of Leading Design, UX London, and dConstruct
For public speaking, I’m represented by Scamp Speakers.
In 2018, I started training people in how to design voice UI for O'Reilly. As a result, I've trained organisations worldwide in this (not so) new design practise, including NASA. I offer talks, workshops and training in how to craft the best conversational interactions for users. I also created voiceprinciples.com so designers can find all the best voice design principles in one place.
In the past, I've...
Other clients include: Virgin, Tesco, Pearson, British Gas, Penguin Random House, the BBC, and UNICEF
I'm currently writing a book, working title Secret Design Skills.
I've contributed chapters to:
I've written about how to prototype a voice interface in just one hour.
In 2017, almost every weekday, I wrote a 5-minute piece on design. Read some of the highlights at slapdashery.org/popular/home.