Hi there,
I’m Ben

I’m a designer and creative leader working at the intersection of culture, brand and strategy. For more than a decade, I’ve helped organizations make sense of change, find the opportunity inside it and turn ambitious ideas into products, experiences and stories that move people to action.

I’m interested in the worlds design makes possible—and how brands, places, technologies and institutions shape the way we gather, explore, work, create and belong. No matter the project, my role tends to follow the same path: helping you sense opportunity, working together to give it shape and building what’s required to bring it to scale.

  • From San Francisco and Berlin to Athens and beyond, I’ve worked around the world with organizations as varied as grassroots groups, social movements and artist collectives, design studios, think tanks, global NGOs and Fortune 100 companies.

    Along the way, I’ve helped solve problems and launch new ideas across travel and hospitality, higher education, landscape conservation, organizational culture, emerging technology, apparel and the future of work. Recent chapters have included work with Airbnb, World Wildlife Fund, Lufthansa City Center, Munich Re and the Landscape Finance Lab.

    I studied Sustainable Development & Social Change and Poverty Studies at Furman University, where I was a James B. Duke Scholar, Shi Center for Sustainability Fellow and member of Phi Beta Kappa. I later studied German, environmental policy and transatlantic relations at Freie Universität Berlin, and trained in design thinking and innovation as a University Innovation Fellow through Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.

    My work and ideas have been recognized by Fast Company and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and I’ve spoken at SXSW EDU, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center, the Deshpande Symposium and the National Academy of Engineering.

    Outside of work, I collect art, train, host dinner parties, travel and research everything from hospitality and design history to the digital humanities. I’m especially drawn to the meeting point between old questions and new tools: how places acquire meaning, how creative cultures form and how technology changes the ways we make, inquire and belong.

    I’m currently based in Charleston, South Carolina and work globally.

PRACTICE

I help organizations understand what’s changing, choose where to move, shape the right response and lead the work required to create impact where it matters most.

  • I help organizations sense and understand what’s changing—across culture, people, markets and technology—and identify where there is a meaningful opportunity to move.

    Cultural Intelligence · Design Research · Consumer Research · Opportunity Scoping · Brand Strategy · Product Strategy

  • I help organizations turn emerging opportunities into compelling products, services, brands and experiences—shaping the value proposition, customer journey, language, interaction, creative direction and visual world that bring an idea to life.

    Experience Strategy · Service Design · Product Design · UX Design · Product Marketing · Brand Strategy · Positioning & Narrative · UX Writing · Creative Direction · Art Direction

  • I help organizations bring ambitious ideas into the world and make them work at scale—aligning teams, strengthening how the work gets done, and building the practices, workflows and tools that help more people carry it forward without losing what made it valuable.

    Design Operations · Program Management · Organizational Design · Team Workflows · Marketplace Strategy · Creative Operations · Learning & Culture · Partnership Strategy · AI Implementation

APPROACH

My best work often emerges where the answers aren’t obvious yet. I work across research, strategy, design and delivery—framing ambiguous problems, uncovering insights, aligning stakeholders and translating ideas into clear concepts, products, experiences and workflows.

My approach draws on human-centered design, systems thinking, creative direction, innovation management and program leadership. I move between the big picture and the details—testing assumptions, surfacing tradeoffs, building alignment and shaping the tools, roadmaps and operating structures needed to take an idea from early exploration to scale. Just as importantly, I build strong teams and shared ways of working that keep the work moving forward long after I step away.

HONEST WORDS

  • “Ben is plugged into the zeitgeist. He has the right instincts about quality and ‘what good looks like.’ The tools he built really helped accelerate the business.”

    Paul Bennett, Advisor to Airbnb

  • “Ben leans into hard problems, wrestles with complexity, and then works with others to produce elegant, beautiful, and accessible designs.”

    Kate Shaw, Director of Learning, Airbnb

  • "Ben has a real talent for getting teams aligned at scale. He created AI-powered tools and prototypes our team still relies on today.”

    Hana Ros, Program Lead, Airbnb

  • “Ben has the unicorn of a gift to combine strategic mindset with creativity.”

    Michelle Aptman, Senior Program Manager, Airbnb

  • “Ben has become an absolute favorite collaborator. I’ve never worked so quickly and seamlessly with anyone.”

    Gabrielle Santa Donato, Director of Learning, Headway

  • “Ben is one of those rare humans who pays close attention and is equally capable to zoom out and work at the macro and systems levels.”

    Eva Maria Zoll, Founder, CultureDesign.org

  • "Cool, smart, creative and full of inspiring solutions, Ben was a joy to work with and we miss his presence in our team."

    Paul Chatterton, Founder, Landscape Finance Lab

  • “Ben has an amazing sense for trust building and group dynamics, both virtually and in person. He designs experiences full of joy and connection."

    Anne Katherine Merkel, WWF

  • “Ben has the very unique ability to understand both what to communicate and how to do it in a way that reflects our values."

    Jorge Vega Matos, The Edge Consulting

  • “Ben is that rare talent who strikes the perfect balance between creativity, strategy, and operational excellence."

    Sarah Asher, Design Director, Airbnb

LET’S TALK

Tell me what you’re working on. Whether it’s an emerging opportunity, a challenge that needs a fresh perspective or work that’s ready to grow, send a little context and I’ll get back to you.

Black and white line drawing of a woman studying a book with a serious expression.