I remember going to the IDSA conference in San Francisco back in ’07. When I talked my company into paying for me to attend, I said I do not need a hotel as I would drive up every day (2 hours each way from Santa Cruz).

Hearing Bill each morning really set the day up to justify whatever people did to get there each day. We all looked like something the cat dragged in but after Bill spoke the room lit up.

He will be missed by all of us.

I met Bill when he visited Chile in 2007, referring to the meeting of ICSID Design Project, Fifth Latin American Regional Meeting. On december 11, Bill gave his lecture, after the end of his presentation, we talked for over an hour about, design, education, of his own life and his beginnings as a designer. It was a very pleasant conversation of the past, present and how to build a better future for people and with the people through design. Thanks Bill.

It is with great sadness to learn of Bill’s departure from our world of design. What a wonderful, open, inclusive, sharing mind.

ID2 and RichardsonSmith first enjoyed a joint project with Black and Decker in ’84, then as advisor to my chairing of the ’85 ICSID/IDSA WORLDESIGN CONGRESS in Wash DC. Next, in’87, ID2 brought all their designers to the RichardsonSmith Design Campus for a week seminar. It was exciting, filled with optimism, futures focused with challenges. Both firms were committed to raising the design bar for excellence in problem solving processes. What a gift for us all to experience at that event. He led our design profession into the 21st century. He helped reshape the borders of our design profession future. He challenged us to excel beyond expectations. He shared his unique “design-thinking-and-doing” processes with students and professionals. He enabled new priorities for future designers. What an exciting and rewarding life-journey experience.

Bill, as a friend and mentor, you are already missed.

—Deane W. Richardson, FIDSA, ICSID Senator, co-founder RicharsonSmith, chairman emeritus FitchRichardsonSmith

A scene from an organizing meeting at IDEO in San Francisco for IDSA’s CONNECTING’07 conference.

“Few people think about it or are aware of it. But there is nothing made by human beings that does not involve a design decision somewhere.”

I am a 20 year old undergrad student of User Experience Design and very much new to field of design. Sadly, I came to know about Bill only after his demise. Hearing from my seniors about how great a designer he was, I started to read about the life and contributions of Bill to the field of design. I researched about his thinking behind designing for humans and it has helped me get a better understanding of my field of study. I feel more sensitive to the human centered aspect of design which Bill so fondly talked about and professed all his life . I believe his thoughts and ideas about design would be the ones that will inspire and shape generations of designers. I hope to someday work at IDEO and experience more of the design legacy that Bill left us. Thank you, Bill, for everything.

Hazy memories of a beautiful summer afternoon in California in about 1980. We were staying with John and Gillian Ellenby in Palo Alto and went to visit Bill and Karen. There were connections as I too had been a student at Hornsey College of Art and we had mutual friends in North London. I remember the beautiful house, the warm welcome and a very relaxed long lunch sitting round a a big table out in the open air – delicious food, lots of laughter, lots to share. Bill, I haven’t seen you since then, but the world feels a smaller place without you. Karen, my heart goes out to you and the boys. Thank you for a lovely day.

Thursday 25 October 2012

Thank you IDEO for the amazing party for Bill Moggridge 1943-2012. He was sure there in spirit because without his influence all those great people would not have come together to celebrate his all too short life.

We all — without exception — felt privileged to have known and worked with him and he would have approved of all the ‘interactivity’ last night at The Dyson Centre.

Thanks especially to Ingelise Nielsen for her organisation and to Karin Moggridge for being there for all the guests and Alex Moggridge for his brave and moving speech and to Hal for his revelations of the Moggridge family when they were young.

We cannot begin to know how the BritMogs are feeling at this time – but we thank you all for the chance to meet and share our thoughts and emotions.

With all our love and respect to you Bill,
Jan and Stuart Smith