Ben Swire in

Ben Swire

Login to view DISC.
Co-Founder at Make Believe Works
📍 New York City Metropolitan Area, United States

Ben Swire is the founder of Make Believe Works and the author of "Safe Danger, " specializing in building team trust and creativity through workshops. An IDEO alum with a Masters from The New School, colleagues describe him as imaginative, rigorous, and poetic in his work.

Outside of his professional focus, Ben has a long-held appreciation for the arts, having bonded with a close friend over drawing in boarding school. He is often described as witty and possesses a fresh sense of style, with an interest in powerful brand narratives like those from Nike.

Ben won a Core77 Design Award for an interactive installation he co-created for AARP designed to move beyond superficial conference small talk.

Read the full overview →
Experience
10 Years
Current Role
Co-Founder
Job Level
Leadership
Location
New York City Metropolitan Area, United States
Personality Overview

How Ben shows up

Communication Style
Decision Approach
Work Preference

Behavioral traits and communication patterns that shape how this person evaluates opportunities, builds trust, and makes decisions in professional settings.

Login to view personality overview.
Priorities

Topics Ben cares about

Team Trust & Safety
His book 'Safe Danger' and his company Make Believe Works are centered on building psychological safety through shared emotional risk, not just comfort.
Creative Collaboration
As an IDEO alum, his career is dedicated to helping teams connect and unlock their creative potential through imaginative and relevant activities.
+5 more topics Login to view topics
Career

Work history

1-2021
Co-Founder
Make Believe Works
10-2025 - 10-2025
Author, Safe Danger
Hachette Book Group
1-2021 - 8-2022
Senior Director, Content Design
InVision
1-2017 - 1-2021
Senior Design Lead, Content, Storytelling, and Brand
IDEO
9-2014 - 12-2016
Senior Communications Designer/Writer
IDEO
In the press

Media appearances

Ben Swire – Co‑Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Make Believe Works. Featured in Make Believe Works (official website)
See now
Education
1991 - 1995
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Occidental College
1997 - 1999
Master's degree
The New School
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

Dominance, influence, steadiness, and calculativeness scores with guidance on how this person prefers to communicate and decide.

Login to view DISC.

More profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Unlock the full playbookSee exactly how to sell to Ben. Free, 10 seconds.