I got to know Bill through an early d.school foundation session he hosted at his home in Woodside. He invited us over for two days to design the future of the Joint Program in Design — the program many of us went through and regarded as inspiration for the d.school. It was a touchy subject, though you wouldn’t know it from the photos. That’s what Bill could do – take the tension out of the room and focus on what we were going to do to make things better for people. He was the trusted, humble authority and unifying spirit everyone rallied around. It’s that part of him I recognize within IDEO.
(That’s a shot Bill took of us by his trailer.)