Kevin Reeder Passes Away
Kevin Reeder had been an Associate Professor of Industrial Design since 2007.
Kevin was a much beloved faculty member who was always available to help students. He was also known with colleague Deana McDonagh for the ARTD 201 sophomore class project paper shoes. Students would walk the length of the Link Gallery to see if their paper shoe design would hold up. He also taught his students to create a design approach to achieve a sense of empathy for the user’s needs. He would take them outside their comfort zone by challenging them to do more, work harder, improve, and think more broadly about how their designs would be used and misused by many people. He frequently urged his students to think in new and different ways about their work. One of his more successful approaches was storyboarding, a design research tool that he has received national and international recognition for and perfected to great success in the classroom.
His book, Conceptual Drawing, Freehand Drawing, and Design Visualization for Design Professions, was published in 2008.
Kevin held patents that included the design of a drink bottle and dispensing top for McKesson Foods Inc. The product reflected the historical form of a traditional seltzer bottle and was introduced to the retail market in the mid-1980s. His second patent was the design of a digital carpenter’s level for Wedge Innovations in 1992. He was also awarded a patent for the design and development of an environmental control device for ocean-transported fruit containers for Transfresh Inc. Australian, European, and other international patents were awarded in 1999. Concept sketches and models for Wedge Innovations’ Pro Level, Smart Level, and Smart Slant products are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
His commissions include ergonomically improved retail/shipping packages for Apple Computer, a children’s video game controller for Lunar Design, swim equipment and apparel for Zura Sports, a child’s car seat for Bolt Design Group, and children’s playpens and technology devices for Priority Designs.
For those of us who knew Kevin, we will miss his sense of humor and his ability to always see the positive side of an issue.
Funeral arrangements and details may be found in his formal obituary.