I’d like to present Benny D, Senior Product Designer at Wowwee to you all. This affable character started off at Wowwee as a Graphic Artist. With an eye for great design and winning products, he quickly moved on to become a Product Designer for the company.

Here’s my interview with Benny:

Hey Benny!

Hey, Michelle, how’s it going?

Not bad. Ready for your interview?

Yeah, sure!

So how long have you worked at Wowwee?

It’ll be seven years soon. I started back in the days of B.I.O. Bugs.

B.I.O. Bugs?

B.I.O. Bugs was the first product that took Wowwee into the robotics direction. It was Mark Tilden’s first product for Wowwee. Before B.I.O. Bugs, we produced mostly RC toys.

Wow, seven years is quite a while. What kind of evolution have you seen within the company?

When I first started, Wowwee was working on the Power Rangers glove, which was a really popular item. We were doing mostly licensed items at the time. Then B.I.O. Bugs came along, and then Robosapien. The rest is history.

So what does a Product Designer do?

Well, basically we do just that: design products. Some develop new products based on existing ideas, and others are ‘inventors’ so to speak, who look for new toy ideas. But basically we come up with ideas for new products and create the designs for them.

How do you like being a Product Designer?

I love it. I’ve been designing stuff since I was six years old. I used to scrape all the paint off my toy cars and then repaint them using my mom’s nail polish. I also built bottle cap shooters and a soap box cart with my brothers and then we took turns pushing each other around in it.

What made you want to be a designer?

I actually wanted to be a banker when I was a kid, but then I failed calculus…

What was your favorite subject in school?

It was always art class and physical education. But art class was always my favorite.

Do you have any advice to kids who might one day follow in your footsteps?

Stay in school and practice drawing. If you want to become a toy designer, you have to be really good at visualizing things and drawing. If you can’t draw as a designer, any computer skills you might have won’t help you.

So of all the toys you’ve worked on, which one is your favorite?

My favorite one is probably Robosapien – he’s simple both aesthetically and mechanically. And he’s quirky and personable – plus he speaks ‘caveman’ which lends a lot to the personality. That and the Rock Climber (which was made maybe 7 years ago) – that one was awesome! My friend has it and still plays with it.

So are you looking forward to the Robosapien movie?

Definitely! I’m totally excited because I'm involved in the design of the characters! It’s going to be a fantastic movie with all of the elements to be a huge success. When the movie comes out, it’ll be like the first time I saw Robosapien being turned on and walking – that was a totally awe-inspiring moment. Also, Avi Arad, the producer of the movie, produced some films that I really liked, such as Spiderman and Hulk.

Can you tell us about some of Wowwee’s future products?

Hmm, all I can say is that the Robosapien movie will showcase some new Wowwee robots, but I can’t say more…

So how are your dragonfly flight skills now?

Much better. It took a bit of practice but I can probably keep it up in the air for as long as the batteries last now!

Any flying tips for FlyTech Dragonfly enthusiasts?

Always anticipate your moves. Give it enough juice to keep it afloat. And in sharp turns, let up a bit on the throttle.

Thanks, Benny!

Anytime!

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