My first encounter with Bill was as a student in the Product Design Program at Stanford. Bill was my instructor for ME116A, the first course in the senior design sequence. The first assignment was to design a chair. I spent most of the night before the due date finishing the chair in the design loft with a hefty exposure to caffeine and Krylon paint. The next day in class, the recumbent chair was finished, the paint was dry (barely), and I was a bit bleary eyed. Bill decided to critique my chair first. He thought it was “lovely”, but he wanted to try it out. I cringed as he struggled to get into the chair and to get comfortable. I cringed even more as his 6 foot frame tried to get up and out of the chair. Once upright with the help of a few students, he proceeded to tell me in his ever-charming way that that was the most uncomfortable chair he had ever sat in! This was my first big awakening to the meaning and potential of design. When I joined DKD as my first job out of Stanford, it was Bill again who mentored me through the design process on my first client project. I was fortunate to have many more encounters will Bill during my tenure at IDEO. In every interaction, he was charming, elegant, eloquent and calm no matter what was happening. His steadfast passion for design has inspired me throughout my career, and his spirit lives on as I spread my passion for design to those I work with and teach. Thank you Bill!