User:CEOofthecountryside/sandbox

Benjamin Males (born 9 October 1982 in Croydon, Greater London) is a British creative, particularly known for high-profile projects that use emerging technologies and Vantablack.

Males is a designer[i], technologist[ii], entrepreneur[iii] and speaker[iv][v] who specialises in bridging the worlds of science and art. Since 2011, he has established himself as a leading figure in the global creative community, creating work that has been seen by millions.

He has founded companies in the creative and technology space. His first, Studio XO was a creative technology company specialising in wearable technology for music artists and brands and was co-founded with fashion designer Nancy Tilbury[vi]. Their first major project was with the Black Eyed Peas where they developed wireless DMX controlled display costumes for the bands Beginning tour[vii]. Other notable projects include for Absolut where they developed laser costumes[viii], Infiniti “For Those Who Drive” TV advert in which Males features alongside Tilbury[ix] and Saatchi & Saatchi “Feel the Reel” where Males and his team developed an emotion sensing wristband that could wirelessly transmit biodata to a central sever in real time[x].

Males and the Studio XO team worked closely with Lady Gaga and her creative team during the development of Artpop, her 3rd studio album[xi]. He was instrumental in the development of Volantis the flying dress where he appeared alongside Gaga in the video of the first flight[xii]. In 2016 Males and Tilbury worked again with Lady Gaga and her team on her David Bowie tribute performance at the Grammy awards where they partnered with Intel to develop a smart ring and other stage innovations[xiii].

In 2017 Males and Tilbury launched 2415, a Gen Z focussed app-connected fashion brand based around a novel Bluetooth connected fibre optic system. Although not available for purchase at the time, the first collection received critical acclaim from Forbes[xiv] and other leading press[xv].

Since 2018 Males has been developing work with Vantablack[xvi], the worlds blackest material, which was invented and is owned by British firm Surrey NanoSystems[xvii]. Through Levitation 29, Males worked with Activision to create the world’s blackest room for Call of Duty 4[xviii] and with Live Nation and PRG to develop a Vantablack Monolith for the French Techno DJ Gesaffelstein[xix]. In 2019 Males worked with BMW to create the BMW X6 Vantablack, the world’s first Vantablack Car[xx]. [i] https://www.rca.ac.uk/students/benjamin-males/

[ii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/computing-ks3-ks4-gcse-coding-and-fashion-technology/zrc3cqt

[iii] https://www.f6s.com/benjaminmales

[iv] https://youtu.be/OP_Ooz_0cWQ

[v] https://thompsonbrandpartners.com/blog/view/881/openhouse-science-meets-design

[vi] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/22/-sp-wearable-technology-clothes-that-let-you-download-the-latest-look

[vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhxD68mQDxs

[viii] https://youtu.be/TxLagnbL4xM?t=102

[ix] https://vimeo.com/105466820

[x] https://www.vice.com/en/article/pgqbj9/emotional-response-measuring-wristbands-may-predict-the-future-of-advertising

[xi] https://www.vice.com/en/article/jpvq4y/designing-flying-dresses-and-the-future-of-fashion-meet-studio-xo-video

[xii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrhxNsxq60

[xiii] https://www.grammy.com/grammys/videos/lady-gaga-teams-intel-bowie-tribute

[xiv] https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2017/09/21/streetwear-wearable-tech/?sh=650d36676113

[xv] https://www.wired.co.uk/article/twentyfour15-shocks-nobody-at-london-fashion-week

[xvi] https://www.surreynanosystems.com/applications/special-projects/black-ops4-and-vantablack

[xvii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack

[xviii] https://blog.activision.com/uk/en/call-of-duty/archives/playing-call-of-duty-black-ops-4-in-total-blackout

[xix] https://www.surreynanosystems.com/applications/special-projects/gesaffelstein

[xx] https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/27/bmw-vbx6-vantablack-car-design/