About James Kendall
Biography
Accomplished designer creating global product platforms in consumer and medical markets through visual design/experience languages for high volume manufacturing needs while balancing functional constraints and cost. Industrial design educator who teaches and creates curriculum. Background includes close collaboration with teams of cross-functional disciplines to create intellectual property, ergonomically sensitive user controls and display, and precise, complex assemblies – all in aesthetically pleasing solutions. Other techniques uncovered unmet user needs through variety of design thinking tools, scenario planning, prototyping, and user ethnographic and consumer research.
Positions Held
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Teaching Assistant Professor, Industrial Design.
KENDALL DESIGN, Mount Prospect, Illinois.
Owner/Principal Designer
Industrial design/product development consulting services.
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION, Benton Harbor, Michigan / Chicago, Illinois.
Principal Designer – Global Consumer Design
Advanced Studio / Emerging Brands Studio Manager – Global Consumer Design
Global manufacturer of home appliance.
Insight Product Development, LLC, Chicago, Illinois.
Senior Manager, Product development consulting services.
Volan Design, LLC, Boulder, Colorado.
Project Director, Product development consulting services.
Robert Case and Associates, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.
Senior Product Designer, Product development consulting services.
Space Management Programs, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.
Industrial Designer, Interior architecture/furniture consulting services.
Memberships
Industrial Designers Society of America
Founder and Former Chair of the IDSA Product Development Section
Former National Conference Agenda Speaker Coordinator
Education
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Industrial Design
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Industrial Management
Minor in Industrial Engineering
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Research and publications
Selected publications
“Vision Needed”
Innovation, IDSA Quarterly Journal, Winter 2017
Metropolitan State University at Denver – “Utility Patent Overview” continuing lecture to business students
ALYX component collection system, manufactured by Baxter Healthcare Corp.
Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Magazine
2005 Medical Design Excellence Awards
“Product Development Baseball”
Innovation, IDSA Quarterly Journal, Winter 2001
“Seeing Opportunities in Product Development” - Northwestern Engineering/Kellogg School Graduate School
of Management Guest Lecture, Spring 2001
“Tailoring Innovation” - Hong Kong Productivity Council & Design Innovation Executive Forum Lecture at
Illinois Institute of Technology, March 2001
“Product Development Strategies in a Networked Economy” - Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of
Management Guest Lecturer/Course Collaborator, Winter 2000
“Industrial Designers as Product Developers”
Innovation, IDSA Quarterly Journal, Winter 2000
“How Business Executives and Designers Work Together” - Consumer Electronics Show Lecture
Las Vegas, NV, January 2000
“ID & Quality/A Vital Link to Customer Satisfaction”
Innovation, IDSA Quarterly Journal, Fall 1998
"Risk Management: Industrial Design Methodology for Medical Product Development,"
Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, February 1995
"Vision Considerations for the Anesthesia Machine Operator,"
Official Publication of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, June 1986
Patents
10,053,807 Laundry system
10,041,201 Modular laundry system
D824,606 Laundry washing module
9,939,193 Apparatus, system, and method for storage in a refrigerated appliance
9,874,394 Method of making a folded vacuum insulated structure
9,611,578 Modular laundry system
9,795,010 Sensor system for refrigerator
9,759,438 Air conditioner with selective filtering for air purification
9,731,234 Liquid pitcher including divided fluid for inlet and outlet filtering
9,714,779 Air conditioner with selective filtering for air purification
9,702,619 Controlled, dynamic lighting of interior of appliance
9,599,353 Split air conditioning system with single outdoor unit
9,539,526 Filter assembly and system/methods of dispensing from and storing the filter assembly
9,347,701 Refrigerator module mounting system
9,310,123 Method of making an appliance door
9,252,570 Countertop module utilities enabled connection
9,071,907 Vacuum insulated structure tubular cabinet construction
9,003,825 Refrigerator with module receiving conduits
8,944,541 Vacuum panel cabinet structure for a refrigerator
8,739,568 Appliance feature module enabled by energy or materials sourced from the host appliance
8,522,563 Method of forming conduit receiving passageways in a refrigerator
8,459,067 Modular laundry system with vertical laundry module
8,456,040 Refrigerator module utilities enabled via connection
8,453,476 Refrigerator module mounting system
8,413,470 Modular laundry system with vertical laundry module
8,381,552 Modular laundry system with vertical laundry module
8,375,750 Modular laundry system with vertical laundry module
8,336,975 Plenum on front of refrigerator/freezer door
8,322,169 Modular laundry system with vertical laundry module
8,299,656 Feature module connection system
8,286,452 Modular laundry system with segmented work surface
8,187,124 Batting swing trainer and method
8,154,857 Appliance host with multiple service interfaces for coupling multiple consumer electronic devices
8,128,184 Double-sided door module
8,117,865 Refrigerator with module receiving conduits
8,072,738 Writing surface with removable portable electronic device
8,035,958 Functional unit of a consumer electronic device and writing surface
7,934,958 System for mounting a device to a host
7,931,114 Adapter or appliance with a user interface window
7,871,300 Host with multiple sequential adapters for multiple consumer electronic devices
7,870,753 Appliance door with a service interface
7,810,343 Dispenser with a service interface for a consumer electronic device
7,748,494 Acoustic chamber as part of adapter
7,713,090 System for slidably coupling consumer electronic devices to an appliance
7,686,127 Acoustic chamber as part of adapter or appliance
7,651,368 Appliance with an adapter to simultaneously couple multiple consumer electronic devices
7,625,246 System for supplying service from an appliance to multiple consumer electronic devices
7,296,695 Workroom storage system
7,228,977 Workroom storage system
D520,148 Slot track
6,949,036 Batting swing trainer and method
6,786,054 Systems and methods for freezing, storing and thawing biopharmaceutical material
6,684,646 Systems and methods for freezing, storing and thawing biopharmaceutical material
D480,122 Batting swing trainer
D457,929 Batting swing trainer with movable slide
6,325,775 Self-contained, transportable blood processing device
5,758,655 Needle device with improved handle
D387,065 Teleconferencing device
D385,281 Conference pro remote microphone
D379,229 Bone marrow biopsy needle
D356,302 Cartridge library system
Teaching and advising
Classes taught
Introduction to Industrial Design (ARTD 101) Initial core curriculum course for industrial design majors with an emphasis on design vocabulary, processes, and techniques
Junior Studio (ARTD 301-302) Third year core curriculum course in industrial design with an emphasis on project definition, planning, creative exploration, design definition and communications
Professional Practice (ARTD 448) This course explores what is means to be a professional industrial designer through visitor lectures and exercises in preparation for post undergraduate opportunities
Industrial Design II (ARTD 502) This graduate level course is part of the core curriculum emphasizing product research leading to application
Design Drawing (ARTD 225) This course teaching the basics of design communications through drawing in various formats/techniques – orthographic, perspective, freehand