PROJECT OBJECTIVE:

The following interviews are part of a larger project for a third-

year Directed Studies in Design Futures. We have conducted

these interviews with Emily Carr alumni to gather knowledge

about design practices, methodologies, experiences and

advocay, while simultaneously taking the opportunity to

showcase former students of Emily Carr University. The

interviews were prepared with two specific audiences in mind;

Current, the Design Research Journal, and the Design°, which

both are web based publishing mediums for design research

and degree content respectively.

We are excited to share with you the outcomes of our project,

and to create a legacy for Emily Carr, sharing the experiences

and insights of alumni.

INTERVIEW

Bree + Solveig

The following is

an interview with

2011 Industrial

Design Graduate,

Ben McLaughlin.

The interview was

transcribed from a

video of our meeting

in November, 2011.

SJ: Could you start with introducing yourself and tell

us a bit about your work?

BM: I graduated from Emily Carr in May 2011,

though I actually had my grad show in May 2010.

Since completing school I have been doing a

couple of privately commissioned furniture pieces

along the same lines as my grad project. More

recently I have tried to further my network and

marketing connections to get my designs into

more retail outlets and more avenues, galleries and

such.

Diverging a bit, I am originally from Omaha

Nebraska. My first two years of University were in

Milwaukee Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Institute

of Art and Design, studying industrial design. I

noticed they had an exchange program and one

of the schools was Emily Carr. So I came here in

the second semester of my third year and was only

supposed to be here for three months. Now three

years later, I am still here. I just love Vancouver. I

also love Emily Carr, so it kept me around

SJ: What are recent projects you are working on?

BM: Actually, tomorrow I am going to meet the

owner and director of a series of galleries called

the Mountain Galleries. They are within the

Fairmont Chateau Hotels. There is one in Whistler,

one in Jasper and one in Banff. I actually met

a representative at a recent design expo, the

IDSA West Show at the Vancouver Trade and

Convention Centre. She said she “loved my work

and needed it in all of her galleries”. She said

she’d never wanted a furniture piece before in her

galleries, but that she needed mine! So for the last

month and a half we’ve been sorting out details,

trying to figure out exactly what works she would

have as well as all of the logistical and business

aspects of things.

SJ: In what way are you most satisfied with this

piece?

BM: It seemed like a lot ideas and a lot of aspects

from design and my life were coming together in

one piece, which is kind of rare in the world of

For this interview, we sat down with Ben

McLaughlin, a 2010 Industrial Design Graduate, to

talk to him about his grad project, Ubuntu, and his

success in the industry after graduation.

Ben’s essay on Ubuntu can be found on the

Current blog, and it was also chosen for the 2011

Current eBook, downloadable off of the iBooks

store in 2012. We encourage you to watch the

video @ current.ecuad.ca, for a sample of Ben

playing the drum he created.

design, to have something that you are satisfied

with. I find that you are always your own biggest

critic. Even with this piece there are very minor

things that probably 95 % of people wouldn’t

notice, outside the design realm and of course I

am going to pick those out first. Just to be very

close to something that you have pictured in your

mind, to be able to produce it as a 3D object, that

is fascinating to me.

SJ: You mentioned the business and logistics side of

things. How were you prepared for that after Emily

Carr?

BM: You know I would say a lot of it has been

learning by doing. I’m not criticizing the Emily Carr

Curriculum, because I think it is a great school.

However, there could be a design entrepreneurship

class. There is Professional Practices, but that

was more centered around my own professional

practice. I have been figuring out all the logistical

sides of things like “where do I find studio space

to use and how do I pay those bills?” and “how

do I buy materials, because I am working with a

lot with exotic hardwoods” , just a lot of shipping

considerations, packaging, pretty much “how do I

get my work to a client at a reasonable price and

still maintain really high quality?”. With each project

I am learning more and more.

SJ: Where do you draw your inspiration from for your

projects?

BM: I am kind of all over the board on that one.

I look at a lot of design websites. I try to visit the

design events in Vancouver, like the IDS West

show that was just here. I like to draw from the

architectural realm. When it comes to actually

creating my work, I find that the biggest motivation

is in seeing other people take enjoyment in what

I am doing. I have done glass blowing for a few

years and as with the drum work, both of these

mediums facilitate an interaction. People almost

seem enthralled by the mediums and gravitate

towards them. That is a really strong creative

energy for me and helps me to pursue the greater

quality in my work I desire.

SJ: How did you get into drums?

BM: It would have been around four years ago.

I was travelling with some friends seeing some

music and stopped in at a friends house. He

pulled out this box and asked if we’d ever seen

one of these before and he started playing it. I

was wowed and had a closer look at it. It was

essentially a wooden box made of a couple of

exotic hardwoods. I was looking for an amplifier

in it because the sound resonance from it was so

incredible. My friend told me there was no amplifier

and I thought: “I can make that.” So basically I just

heard the drum and saw a lot of possibilities there.

I actually came to Emily Carr right after this

happened and I was coming up on my fourth

year and starting to think about a grad project,

something that would keep me entertained. I think

I found it.

SJ: Are the drums originally from Africa?Is that where

the name Ubuntu comes from?

BM: Ubuntu is essentially an African philosophy

that means the essence of being human and

interconnected. The concept was based on the

idea of cultures and people coming together and

being one in some respects. The African tongue

drum itself is based on a log drum, which is the

original version of it. It is essentially a hollowed out

redwood log that indigenous people in Western

Africa would cut slits horizontally on the log and

then beat it with a stick. It would resonate these

very deep tribal tones across long distances

so that villages could communicate. They were

also used in ceremonies to communicate to the

listeners what dance to perform. These tongue

drums were thought of as the first telephone as

they were used to communicate messages.

SJ: So you’ve continued to make drums after

you made your grad piece Ubuntu. What kind or

responses do you get to your drums? What fascinates

people?

BM: The responses have been pretty

overwhelmingly positive actually. I surround myself

with designers and creative types so I always have

people critiquing and saying “what If?”. It’s good

because I get a lot of good inspiration from that.

It allows me to have a kind of futurist mentality. I

keep asking myself what it could be before even

making it. Every time I’ve had my drums out

in public it’s been a good excuse for people to

come up and talk to me and for me to meet a lot

of people that I otherwise wouldn’t have. At the

IDSWest show it was great. It seemed like every

time there was a large gathering of people coming

together and my piece was there, it was like an

ego boost because people come by who were

so into it. At the IDSWest show I was surrounded

by designers and professionals that have been

doing this for years and years. So to go there and

have my piece on display and have people come

up and tell me that they think it is one of the best

pieces of the show, is a positive encouragement

to push on and continue pursuing doing what I

am doing. And children just seem to love it. At the

show, children, even thirty/forty yards away would

hear the piece and see someone interact with

the piece. You could just see it in their eyes, their

eyes would get wide and they would zombie-walk

towards the piece.

SJ: One of the goals you set with the drum project

was to entice a multicultural interaction in a

communal setting. Do you feel that you’ve been able

to achieve that?

BM: I think so. You know, when I first started

the piece I had almost an idealistic vision of it,

of two people coming together from potentially

opposite ends of the planet, having never met or

been able to speak the same language and who

are able to communicate and create via this very

natural medium. I honestly do think that has been

achieved. Vancouver is quite a multicultural city

and any time I’ve had the piece out in public, there

are multiple cultures playing it at one time.

SJ: When in the process did you decide to combine

instrument and furniture?

BM: It was quite early on. I think actually the

phrase sound resonating furniture was really what

kicked it off. I had not really ever seen it before so

it was a new avenue of exploration that people had

not done before. Like I said the tongue drum is an

instrument that has been around for thousands

of years, I saw the possibility to re-contextualize

it in a modern day context, using the same

means as it was originally created, as a means of

communication and creativity. Which I think is, via

a natural medium, which is hard to come by these

days.

SJ: How would you say your work has evolved from

when you graduated?

BMcL It has become much more precise. I’ve

found that I make far fewer mistakes and I am

better at documenting every stage of the process

that I do now. Especially with my more recent

pieces that I do now. I’ve documented every bit,

every tolerance, every piece of material that I

used, every amount of time that it has taken me

to do every stage. I can really start to evaluate

my efficiency. I think in the end efficiency is where

you are going to make or lose money. If you

know every stage of the process, then you know

which stage of the process you can do yourself

and which parts could potentially be done more

efficiently by a machine. The whole sustainability

aspect of my piece has always been looming in

my mind. I find myself very inspired by nature

and being in the outdoors, so I definitely have a

concern for deforestation. I am using all wood

and for my drums themselves, exotic hardwood.

So how do I touch on this issue without offending

people with aspects of my work. I think that

ultimately I am trying to create a visual metaphor

throughout my piece. The seats and the shell

that is holding up the drum, are made from exotic

hardwood. I use a bamboo veneer for the seats

and the shell. I try to create an artifact quality. Not

something that you will see at a garage sale or that

you will want to throw away, but something that

can function as a family heirloom and be passed

down from generation to generation. That is what I

personally see as sustainable design. If something

can last longer and the tree or the material from

which it is produced can reproduce itself. I think it

is a step towards sustainability.

SJ: Why do you need to use the exotic hardwood?

BM: The exotic hardwoods are mainly used for the

tonal quality. The soundboard is an African padauk.

I’ve experimented with an expansive amount of

imported and domestic hardwoods and pedauk

for the sound board gives the best tonal quality.

That was what was traditionally used for the

original log drum. So I am trying to touch on this

cultural richness of Africa. It’s always been a place

that has intrigued me (I’ve never been there but

hope to go some day). The sound box is a wood

called bobinga which comes from Western Africa

as well as parts of South America. It is extremely

dense and very hard and heavy, which gives it

good resonance qualities. Both hardwoods are

very linear in grain which you’ll notice a lot with

instruments. The wood that is used is generally

linear grained, because you get better tonal quality

out of it.

SJ: What are key elements in your process?

BM: I start with a rough idea and then I try to

go into 3D as quickly as possible. It allows me

to see how a material will react. The more that

I’ve created these drums and worked with them,

the more precise I’v become. I’ve learned how

far I can push a material in terms of quality. In

industrial design we are able to learn how to create

something that you would see on a shelf essentially

and the high level of quality you can get it to. When

I first started making these drums, I found myself

almost fighting with the material because it was so

hard and dense. I was running through a lot of bits

and saw blades. Now with this most recent piece

it was like cutting butter; it wasas if I’d become in

tune with the material.

SJ: What do you think is the most important aspect of

designing in 2011?

BM: Trying to create designed objects that are

the most efficient that they can possibly be. And

when I speak of efficiency I mean efficiency of

ergonomics, manufacturing, production, shipping

and storage. Because efficiency ultimately allows

you to be sustainable with your work. If you can

limit the amount of off-cuts that you use, materials,

power you use in creating something, I think you

will produce a better product that is going to be

more user friendly, and more environmentally

friendly.

“Efficiency ultimately

allows you to be sustainable

with your work.”

Watch the interview with Ben on the Current blog:

current.ecuad.ca

INTERVIEW

Hello Design°, my name is_Ben McLaughlin_ and I am one of the Industrial Design alumni_ atEmily Carr University__, an Art and Design Schoollocated in Vancouver __, BC. I am known for my Ubuntu Project and its ability to allow for multi-_cultural interactions____.An Emily Carr Alumni, I graduated in _2011__, and found myself working__in the �lm industry and ___designing and building ___custom furniture. If I could give a student one piece of advice, it would be ___to fully utilize the resourcesand opportunities available_as undergrads, because thesame resources can be harderto come by after ECUAD.X. Ben McLaughlin_____

X

What is the biggest challenge

designers face today?

How did Emily Carr prepare you for

your career in design?

What skillset is best suited for a

graduate entering today’s design

industry?

SELF PO

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10 W

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HAT

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Acquiring the networking connections and resources to push your designs to the next level; In order to maximize design complexities such as (but not limited to): usability, innovation, ergonomics, aesthetics, manufacturability, sustainability.

Above all else, the Emily Carr design program taught me that design is not just about creating an end product that is beautiful, but how to use critical thinking to situate a particular design (or set of designs) within the larger system to which it relates. It fostered a state of mind that focuses on Aware-ness. Awareness of how the product or service it provides, �ts into the larger global system. A system that is both human and environmentally centered.

Work ethic/PassionPursuit of InnovationPursuit of Increasing e�ciencyEnvironmental Awareness and Understanding of ImpactFocus on ergonomics and user comfortCultural Awareness and understanding of end user/target demographicDeep understanding of material choice and how to maximize production

CuriosityObservationInspirationExperimentationInvestigationEvolvingMethodologicalRe�ectionRevisionRe�nement