Ben Fryc | 3D Artist and Designer at Framer

Today I'm speaking with Ben Fryc, a 3D artist, motion designer, and creative who's worked with Google, Figma, Loom, Wealthsimple, and now, for the last year, at Framer.

I've followed Ben's work for years and really admired it. It's been exciting to watch his 3D and motion craft bring even more polish and energy to Framer's already stellar brand over the past year.

In our conversation, we dove into his first year at Framer, the tight-knit marketing/video team, how he collaborates with folks like Andy Orsow, and the creative process behind their in-house work. We also covered his tool stack (Cinema 4D, Redshift, After Effects, Plasticity, and where each shines), the shift from freelance to full-time, his fantastical Knob series (and the role of Joseph Sims' sound design in elevating it), the wild journey turning those renders into real hardware with Work Louder, and where AI fits (mostly conceptual, not production).

We also spoke about his personal work building the Knob keyboard, from "how hard could it be?" to shipping Batch 1: the compromises, community momentum, and what he'd tackle next with limitless resources (like a dream mouse or desk takeover). I really enjoyed this interview. Ben's a great guy. So I hope you do too.

Topics Discussed

• First year at Framer, joining from Wealthsimple, and why he was drawn to a product he already used
• Framer's small marketing team: Andy Orsow, Joseph, Justin, Emily, Monica, and the "everyone's a sniper" culture
• Virtual production setup: the California studio with projection-based backgrounds
• How Andy brought Ben in for 3D and the "freelance to full-time" conversation at the airport
• 3D as a core brand language for Framer, and when to use restraint vs. full-scale work
• Where 3D fits (hero, footer, ads) and the importance of the right metaphor for web illustration
• Spline vs. Cinema 4D/Redshift: fidelity vs. real-time, and why he sticks with traditional renders
• Tool stack: Cinema 4D, Redshift, After Effects, Plasticity (and where each fits)
• Creative process at Framer: trust, Slack ideation, "is this cool?" experiments, and low-fidelity alignment
• Spring event: grass as metaphor, early sketches, AI-generated backdrops, and iterative exploration
• The 80–20 rule and learning X-particles during downtime
• 3D weak spots: UV unwrapping, rigging, and why he moved from characters to abstract work
• Knob series: discovering Plasticity, fantastical devices, Joseph Sims sound design, and Instagram growth
• Designing the Knob keyboard: "how hard could it be?", Work Louder partnership, and CAD to Rhino handover
• AI's role: conceptual phase only, where it could help (UVs, rigging), and why it's not in his production workflow

People Mentioned

• Andy Orsow (Framer) video marketer, brought Ben onto the team
• Joseph Sims (Framer, sound design) educational content at Framer Academy; sound design for Knob series
• Justin (Framer) educational content with Joseph Sims
• Emily (Framer) Instagram and social content
• Monica (Framer) head of brand
• Yara (Framer) head of marketing
• Paul Lapkin (Framer) designer, joined in the past year
• Ryan (Framer) video content
• Jorn van Dijk (Framer) founder and CEO
• Jurre (Framer) collaborated on Spring event
• Adam Witcroft former Wealthsimple colleague, designed the Plasticity logo
• Tim Van Damme (MVKB) keyboard designer
• Matthea (Work Louder) engineering, Knob keyboard production
• Nick Campbell (Grayscale Gorilla) founder

Tools Mentioned

• Cinema 4D 3D modeling and animation
• Redshift GPU-based renderer
• After Effects motion graphics and compositing
• Plasticity CAD-style 3D modeling for product design and Knob keyboard CAD files
• Spline real-time 3D in the browser (fidelity vs. Cinema 4D discussed)
• X-Particles particle system for Cinema 4D; Ben learned during downtime
• Rhino 3D modeling for Knob keyboard production (Handover from Plasticity)
• Drop & Render cloud rendering used by Framer for Cinema 4D/Redshift