Small business article on KEK Design

Originally by Mary McCrank

KEK Associates is a diverse design company that has worked for major fast-food chain, a local shopping plaza and now, a children’s toy company.

This Brighton company, at 2555 Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road, designed the styrofoam carton for McDonald’s McDLT, did the architectural rendering of Loehmann’s Plaza; at 1900 S Clinton Ave. and is currently working for Fisher Price, although they could not disclose any of the details.

KEK Associates, which has been around since 1970, stands for Karl E. Kober, its founder and president.

Even though KEK Associates label themselves as design consultants, Kober prefers the title of industrial designers.

After all, KEK Associates has designed various products for several companies. For Eastman Kodak they designed a microfiche viewer. For Computer Consoles Inc. they redesigned a terminal, which involved meeting human factor requirements.

Stephen F. Boehme, account executive for KEK Associates, said that the human factor is how “the user responds to the machine, such as what an operator may read off the screen or how they react to its colors.”

Although most of their designing deals with lasers, hi-technology and electronics, KEK Associates has also designed medical equipment, aircrafts and sketches or mock ups for printing

They designed travelling vans for Kodak and Stromberg Carlson, in which they had to work within the specifications of both the car manufacturers and the companies involved.

Most of KEK Associates’ work is local, besides doing business for a company in Michigan. They did have a KEK Associates in Florida, but Kober said it was hard to conduct business long distance. They have not necessarily given up” on the idea to reopen in Florida, Kober said. And, he added, “We hope to widen our horizons.”

Kober emphasized that he doesn’t consider other design consultants in Rochester as the competition, but as “fellow professionals.”

After having worked for several companies, including in Xerox’s New Ventures Division as manager of corporate design, Kober “wanted to open my own shop,” and said, “I thought I could maximize it.”

Very young you tend to exhibit an interest in design,” Kober explained. And now, the Syracuse University graduate says, “Creativity is our specialty.”

The duration on a project varies. They sometimes go from “concept through production, specification prototypes,” Kober said. It depends on the client’s needs or environment. KEK Associates has just expanded adding a plastics, wood and metal model shop, which takes up two-thirds of their building, directly across form Monroe Community College. They now total 6,500 square feet, almost doubling from their previous 3,400.

Some projects take up to 18 months to complete, Kober said.

Others, such as the redesigning of a computer takes only 12 weeks. They have done as much as 10 projects at a time. They have increased their staff from 6 to 14 in the last six years, Kober said.

“Most designers carry out most of the design themselves.” He said of his designers, they are of “creative talent and contribute substantially.”

They market their services to both old and new clients. Boehme said that a lot of their work comes from “repeat” clients, those who they’ve worked with in the past. Kober concluded about their diverse work aptitudes with saying KEK Associates is, “Always looking for challenge.”