Today, Ruben believes that Design is Political. He uses the design
process to increase possibilities for a just and sustainable/
regenerative human existence. His sole motivation is fairness.

In his day job as a product designer Ruben works to reduce the
ecological impact of manufacturing. After work he participates in
many side projects, including initiating a Green Dream Tank,
investigating small scale food processing and ‘non-mune’
collaborative living, as well as participating in the planning
committee for a new Canadian Green Building Council design competition.

He has a healthy skepticism about the value of science, technology,
academia, and the current design paradigm, since, as Albert Einstein
said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used
when we created them.”

In earlier parts of his life, Ruben owned and operated a restaurant,
spent several years practicing trapeze, forged a knife with a
Japanese swordmaker and cobbled a pair of wing-tip shoes. He
currently makes his own soap, yogurt and bread, and wishes he could
find good information on the abrasive qualities of homemade toothpaste.