Hello, my name is Mike Benzarti and I am a third year product design student based in Barcelona. Up until shortly before the begin of my academic studies at IED I had never ventured into the world of design, I had always viewed things through an artistic lens. Throughout my journey in painting I gradually started to feel the urge to facilitate change with my creative output, so slowly but surely I became more and more interested in creating something that could help and serve others in some shape or form.
Currently, am trying to combine my artistic interest with my skills in design to create sustainable and stimulating products, that can incrementally improve the lives of others.
CV
EDUCATION
• 2020-present Product Design (BA) at IED Barcelona
• 2016-2017 International Business (BBA) at Maastricht University
• 2014-2016 IB highschool diploma at the International School on the Rhine
SKILLS & SOFTWARE
• Photoshop (basic)
• Indesign (advanced)
• Illustrator (basic)
• After Effects (basic)
• Rhino 3D (advanced)
• Vray (basic)
• Arduino (basic)
• Stratos (basic)
TEAM
LANGUAGES
German (native)
English (fluent)
Spanish (elementary)
SOFT SKILLS
DAWN
MANIFESTO
PRODUCT DATA SHEET
An experimental piece that explores the intersection of art and design, incorporating elements of traditional wood joinery and blending them with digital manufacturing methods. It stands as a beacon for creating meaningfully. Both the hide and frame are kept in place solely through clever wood joinery and friction between individual elements, without any adhesives or other fixtures. The Frame consists of 4 wooden bars that interlock at their respective bows and sterns, using a system of cylindrical pins, to create a robust and durable structure. The hide is laser-cut to perfectly align with the interior mounting system of 4 additional pins, that are attached to the frame from within it‘s bounds. Once the hide has been fixed onto them, it gets entrapped by sliding wooden slabs onto the cylinders. Not only does this lock the hide in place, it also applies surface tension to it, emulating a tensed canvas. In the union of Art and Design, the frame represent the design element of the piece.
The piece centers around a laser-cut section of naturally tanned leather. The pattern etched onto the hide represents the artistic element, within the pathos of the piece. It’s origin is a painting that explores symbology and alternative forms of language. The precisely cut symbols and their straight lines are juxtaposed with the individual uniqueness of the leather‘s surface texture. This combination of precise and accurate reproducibility, attained through CNC Laser cutting, with one of the oldest and most natural materials used by humans, creates an unexpectedly beautiful harmony. One that is pathologically related to the harmony between Art and Design.
The Foolbox was created within the bounds of a course called textile project. After having worked alongside a leather craftsman for Manifesto, I chose to use this opportunity to solve a reoccurring issue I had observed whilst in his Atelier.
The reason for it’s humorous name is twofold. Foolbox is an abbreviation of both the terms felt toolbox and foldable toolbox. The choice of material is justified as felt it a soft and foldable material that creates a perfect temporary storage space for hard and sharp tools. The mechanisim which allows the Foolbox to be folded into a thin sheet, making it portable and easily storable, is a system of steel snap buttons. The bottom is reinforces with a pvc layer making it perfectly stable when carrying.
F ºO LBOX
DAWN
DAWN is a sculptural wall lamp that allows for a spectrum of ambient light effects through it‘s interactive nature.. The main disk is attached to a wallmounted railing system that allows for horizontal movement, behind the static and suspended LED tube. The short-lived yet eternal dance performed by the Sun every morning served as the main reference point for DAWN. Another key reference point that takes DAWN into the night and to the beyond, is the Orion constellation, more specifically Orions belt.
Depending on which color section the LED tube is hovering above, the ambient light effect illuminating the space will change. This also allows for a slight change in the percieved light temperature of the lamp‘s ambience.
The three circular pieces to the right of the main disc‘s center are coated in light-storing luminous paint. They charge up on the light emmited by the LED tube as well as any other surrounding UV light sources., Once the lamp is turned off, the user is left with a green afterglow of the three circles that are arranged in reference to Orion‘s belt, taking Dawn into the beyond.
ABLE
Initially this project was not intended to be a larger project, however, as it developed through numerous prototypes and materials, the end result became more and more promising. The Zable is a bedside table that explores the concept of transparency. Two identical 7-shaped pieces of metacrilato, engraved accordingly, are joined solely by slightly smaller symbols that lock the mechanism into place though friction.
* pattern for laser cutting and engraving
The Topo lamp was a collaborative project between Eve Bouchez, Lucienne de Waal and myself. Our main conceptual reference point were topographic maps. We applied a topographic pattern onto a truncated elliptical form to create a lampshade that can both be used as a pendant and standing lamp.
We opted for a color-changable lightbuld, to be able to play with the semi-transparent nature of the 3D printed lampshade and allow for more versatile usage.
FACELIFT
We decided to call this product Facelift because of the vertical lifting movement is possesses and the location of the building for which the product was designed. Facelift is the proposal of a new “face” to the facades El Congres that will give a contemporary, green twist to the space without masking its history or heritage.
Facelift is a product designed to improve the overall aesthetic of the facade of El Congres for the both the inhabitants in the building along with the pedestrians outside. The product will provide an array of benefits for the user, such as providing shade, privacy and thermal insulation while also giving the user the opportunity to cultivate a tiny garden of a variety of small plants.
The typology of the product is an exterior window shutter that can grow small flowers, plants and sprouts. The plants types can can be custom ordered. The modular ability of the troughs leaves for a maximum of 106 centimeters of vertical room to grow. It is completely decided by the user at any moment and can be rearanged at anytime.
POLESTAR H2
The Polestar H2 is a hydrogen engined motorcyle made in the image of the Swedish car manufacturer Polestar. For our course “Two Wheels Project“ product students were paired with transportation students to design a two wheeled vehicle in the image of an existing automotive brand. This group project between Rodrigo Triana, Jaroth Gonzalez and I, was one of the most challenging projects I have been a part of as transportation design was outside the realm of my capabilities and expertise. Besides all the technical skills and knowledge aquired, this project immensly helped me refine and learn new soft skills. We did a tremendous job playing to our individual strenghts for the benefit of the team, but also helping each other and giving each other constructive feedback in areas outside of our indivivdual expertise.
Rodrigo and worked on and designed the rims together, while Jaroth focussed on the chassis. Rodrigo and I went on to design the helmet, and I was furthermore in charge of the presentation visuals and structure. We divided the work in a smart manner and were able to present a project that we are all extremely proud of. The numerous itterations of the rims below were inspired by the Polestar logo.
