It was amazing luck to visit his North Beach office in 1987. As he did for so many, Bill changed the course of my life. He could see opportunity in what I’d dreamed of, welcomed me into his home and his company, creating the space to evolve my craft among talented colleagues who became dear friends as we grappled with new frontiers in design.
Here are a few of very many things I learned from him:
— graciousness and gratitude are the heart of creative culture (connects and brings out the best in everyone)
— choose your medium before your content (gives you focus, helps you edit, and of course you can change it)
— think about verbs not nouns (keeps your focus on people’s experience)
— stories help people see what you’re seeing (encourages an audience to discover things for themselves)
— imagine that you have a pocket full of gold and just spend it till someone tells you to stop (a liberating antidote to British thrift and caution)
Life is so much better for time with you Bill, with your encouragement, respect, optimism, dignity and playfulness. May you rest in peace and your spirit live on.