Bill once sat just a few feet away from me, when I was working freelance at IDEO, London on an ID project. It was a strange situation for me, because I was also working on some interaction ideas for their client and I knew he had deep expertise in this way of thinking.
I really wanted to ask him for his feedback on my ideas, but instead I just said “hello Bill, I went to your birthday party a few years ago, and… you were my favourite designer, when I was studying industrial design at Central School of Art.” Not exactly a conversation starter, but he smiled generously and we perhaps exchanged a few more words about Central and Hedda Beese (whom I also admired), before I felt I may be interrupting his flow of thinking, so went back to my sketch pad…
What I remember most about the times I saw him in the studio, was his casual confidence, and how he put people around him at ease with his relaxed manner and body language. I wish I’d had an opportunity to work with him, he seemed like a true gentleman and I was sad to hear of his untimely death.