We are fortunate to have a host of very talented industrial designers in the region. Dave and Jim were our first two person bandy-back-and-forth talk, which is not typical on the TED stage. When I met the two and discovered their interesting notions on the relationship between music, specifically jazz, an industrial design, I had to see if they would speak as a duet. They shine light on the interesting relationship between music and design in a way that has always interested me as a designer. Music is a constant inspiration to so many designers, and here we see that they are not so different, in the way that they are created.
Jim has over 25 years of experience in industrial design and his career in Rochester includes consulting, corporate and freelance positions. He is now in his tenth year with KEK Associates, having designed products for Kodak, Xerox, Leapfrog and Hamilton Beach. Jim enjoys a close relationship with R.I.T.’s Industrial Design department, having served as adjunct faculty on several occasions. Jim is passionate about playing his saxophone and he can be found in and around Rochester performing with local big bands, or with the Standard Jazz Quartet, which he has co-led for over ten years.
David is a designer, tinkerer, and generally curious person. He is a design engineer with 15 years experience in product design. Currently consulting with KEK Associates, he helps clients find unique solutions to a wide variety of design challenges. David enjoys the creative process of web design as well as product design. He is also Co-Founder and Lead Developer at Sparkhouse, a web design and development collective. At the intersection of both fields, he seeks to inspire and connect other design professionals as Editor of the design blog Fuel Your Product Design.
