As a recent university graduate armed with a degree in Thermodynamics in 1985, I found myself a bit stricken by my choice of majors, essentially not having a particularly good understanding of what exactly one does with a degree in Thermodynamics. I happened upon a used book on Industrial Design and it became clear to me at that moment what I wanted to do with my life.
Armed with no knowledge about ID whatsoever, I did what one did in those days: I looked up “Design, Industrial” in the Yellow Pages. There were about 14 listings, including a firm called ID2, and I composed a clever letter to each begging for some sort of contact and advice on how to proceed. Bill was kind enough to respond and let me come into the office on Stockton.
Getting off the elevator and seeing the workspace opened up a new world for me. The shelves that held past projects in the corner of the conference room were filled with things that literally made my heart race faster. Bill’s thoughtful words of encouragement and description of the industry solidified that this was going to be my future. He was kind enough to invite me to the Friday afternoon sessions, which included champagne, and these opened up a whole new lexicon that I started to absorb.
I vowed to work for Bill someday and would do everything in my power to do so.
Five years later with a degree from Art Center and several years of work experience, I was hired on at ID2 as an Industrial Designer – what a thrill! Moments later we became the first members of the IDEO community taking us all in directions we could not have imagined in those days.
Bill, thank you for taking the time to respond to my pleas for information 27 years ago and setting me on a path that has led to a fantastically satisfying career and life. I will be keeping you in my thoughts.