
William Gordon Drenttel
1953-2013
It is with great sorrow that we announce that William Drenttel, who co-founded Design Observer ten years ago and was its mastermind, conscience, and animating spirit, died on December 21, 2013, after a year-and-a-half struggle with brain cancer. He was 60 years old.
Bill lived many lives over six decades. It was no accident that his restless imagination often placed himself at the center of an era’s concerns. He was an unlikely advertising man at the tail end of the “Mad Men” era. With Stephen Doyle and Tom Kluepfel, he helped create one of the most influential design firms of the 1980s. At Winterhouse, the studio he founded with Jessica Helfand in the nineties, he worked as a first-rate designer, an independent publisher, and a champion of causes from voting rights to freedom of the press. He anticipated the rise of social design in the 21st century through his work with the Rockefeller Foundation and Mayo Clinic, and gave substance to the promise of “design thinking” with classes and case studies for the Yale School of Management. When Bill and Jessica won the AIGA Medal this year, it was only surprising because it was so long overdue.
But it was here at Design Observer that the impossibly wide range of his intellect has been truly demonstrated. Although he was never the site’s most prolific writer — he often complained of writer’s block — he worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Bill discovered and encouraged new writers, pioneered new features to better serve our readers, and ceaselessly sought new ways to expand the site’s purview. He was positive that anything could be an appropriate subject for Design Observer’s writers. This reflected his conviction that design had the capacity to help us understand, transform, and improve every aspect of human life. Although over 500 writers have contributed to this site over the last ten years — and although he would have been the first to deny it — Design Observer is, in the end, the product of Bill Drenttel’s vision.
Bill leaves behind his wife and partner, Jessica Helfand; their two wonderful children, Malcolm and Fiona; his father-in-law, William Helfand; and countless heartbroken friends who came to depend on his companionship more than he would ever know. We will miss him, and so will you.
Comments [167]
My sincere condolences to Jessica and her family, and to the DO founders and writers.
12.21.13
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This is so true, and particularly true for me. Bill pushed me to be a better designer and a better person. Much of what I've accomplished in my career, and in my life, has been a non-so-subconscious attempt to please Bill, or at least to live up to his opinion of me. I feel I've lost not only a friend but a part of myself. I hope I can honor his memory going forward. Thank you, Bill.
12.21.13
11:46
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11:47
The world has lost a giant. We have lost our friend, our leader, our spirit.
Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm; Michael B: sending you love and my deepest, deepest condolences. To say he will be missed is beyond an understatement. The world is no longer the same.
12.21.13
12:00
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12:04
Thank you, Bill, for everything – but most of all for being a world-builder who created a singular design community that enriched so many lives.
This world will not be the same without Bill, but it's a world forever filled with Bill's spirit.
12.21.13
12:13
I feel privileged for our friendship in the past six years, and for your generosity and dedication to the many initiatives that have championed the field of social impact design that I hold dear.
Your eloquence and presence at the LEAP symposium this fall was one such remarkable gift--thank you my dear friend.
my love to Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm.
12.21.13
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12:29
a lot of people talk about what they're going to do. bill actually did things--books, websites, institutions. we can all be thankful for what he built, and know that his legacy is very, very real.
12.21.13
12:40
12.21.13
12:41
Bill was a graceful writer and an insightful - important - publisher. I hope he knew just how many writers and designers his work, and Jessica's, inspired.
Bill was also man of unique warmth and integrity. That’s a rare thing.
I just noticed that it stopped raining. It must be all of us thinking warm thoughts about Bill.
My love too, to Jessica and his family.
12.21.13
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12:47
True original.
Words fail.
12.21.13
01:10
Thank you for everything, Bill.
My condolences to Jessica and the family.
12.21.13
01:12
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01:13
He was also my friend. Both gifts are immeasurable.
Love to Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm.
12.21.13
01:15
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01:19
Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm, we hold you in our hearts.
Nathalie & Gaby
12.21.13
01:19
We have lost a monument of design and a truly lovely person.
With love and hugs to Jessica and the kids, and to all who were fortunate to know him so much better than I.
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02:31
Personally, I really need to sketch out how different the world will be without Bill Drentell. How that all will work doesn't immediately spring to mind. Eternal love and support to Jessica. B&J were one of the great love stories of all time. Fiona and Malcolm have had a great adventure already, one that their dad, I'm certain, has told them is just getting started.
12.21.13
02:53
Jessica, Malcolm, Fiona, my love to you all.
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My heart is with you.
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03:23
Much love and strong thoughts to Jessica, Malcolm & Fiona. X
12.21.13
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03:26
Bill amazed me many times; but it was his range, perhaps, that was most inspiring. One day, while consulting for Netscape, he was reviewing visual design proposals for a next generation browser + web service. Bill was providing feedback to a young designer—teaching really, at a detailed formal level—unexpectedly the CEO of AOL walked in (AOL had just purchased Netscape). Without missing a beat, Bill turned to Barry Schuler and began a conversation about the business challenges we faced. Bill's ability to work at many levels simultaneously was a marvel. He used it to make the world a better place.
I already miss deeply our conversations -- his generous counsel and good humor. I count myself lucky to have worked with Bill and to have had him as a friend. Condolences to Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona.
12.21.13
03:51
Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona: I hope all of these words soothe you in some way. It's evidence of the tremendous good he did in this world, and you can be extremely proud of him.
12.21.13
03:54
You're in my thoughts.
12.21.13
04:06
no words work here.
very deepest condolences to Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona.
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04:52
We worked on a bunch of books together on design during this time, in the 90s. He was always eager to explore the new. But as much as I meant to, I didn't stay in touch very much and I can't say I have any intimate knowledge of his last years. Which is why I feel so incredibly sad and want to say 'wait. Bill. Please come back. I'm not done. Yet you have vanished.'
RIP Bill Drenttel. The design world is better off for your intelligent leadership. My condolences to Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm.
12.21.13
05:05
The number of careers and lives he's changed for the better is immeasurable. A thousand hugs to Jessica and the rest of the family.
12.21.13
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07:23
I'm filled with memories of you and Bill together, including when you first met ... at a certain conference in Miami. Heartbroken for you.
And like others, I'm so grateful for the extraordinary intelligence Bill brought to the world. Truly a sad, sad day.
12.21.13
07:25
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07:44
Others have shared the journey he traveled to the point when each of us first encountered him. None of us could have been left with the impression he was the same person the last time we saw him that he was when we first saw him; nor were we. He was forever moving several steps ahead of us, forging new impressions of what needed to be said or understood to really grasp what was currently important in life (or that could be changed by design).
The beauty of his character, which we all know could feel very intense, was that he also focused intently on each of us and the challenges we face. In a manner that was both intellectual and personal, he influenced us and our way of thinking about whatever was of the moment without our necessarily realizing we had been changed.
He was an advocate of design at the most effective level: he demonstrated the value of the design mind by doing valuable things. He was a designer, yet he could speak with the confidence of a peer with those centered in business strategy; he could write, design and publish books; he was capable of serious research; and he became leading voice for the role of design in social change.
The most appropriate criticism I heard leveled against him was "He has too many ideas!"
As an advocate, he respected institutions as well as creating them, inventing means of doing what should come next for our profession, just before others understood the need.
He transformed AIGA, both as president, and as an eager and continuing partner in encouraging AIGA and our members to find new ways to make a difference. For me, he was the friend and counsel I turned to first when a possibility bordered on the audacious, simply for a reality check; or when I sought strategic context as we assembled clues from the experiences of thousands of designers.
I will miss him deeply. We will all miss him. And we extend our deepest sympathy, support and love to Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.21.13
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Una gran pérdida.
12.21.13
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09:23
My heartfelt condolences to Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.21.13
09:33
I remember the DO party in 2009 at the AiGA Memphis conference that Bill and his team hosted. So much fun and joie de vivre in someone who took social engagement and design quite seriously.
Bill, Rest in Peace. My sincere condolences to Jessica and the family.
12.21.13
09:49
We <3 Bill “!”
12.21.13
10:02
Bless your dear Bill. And, precious soul, bless you too. Sitting in much grief with you, Jessica. May you find a path towards inner peace and celebration of a wonderful, inspired and meaningful life.
Holding you in heart,
Amy and Jeff
12.21.13
10:15
pillars of our design foundation is now gone forever. Those with
the vision and intellect that Bill possessed are few and far
between. I have known, admired and respected Bill for as long as
I can remember. My heart aches for Jessica, Malcolm and
Fiona. As hard as we may try, this vacuum will never be filled.
12.21.13
10:21
12.21.13
10:22
Bill and Stephen were the very first designers to show me kindness when I came to NYC in 1986. Their encouragement meant everything to me, and always will.
What an inspiration to watch Bill's life and career evolve so brilliantly over the next 27 years.
My last image of Bill in my mind, from two and a half months ago: in his kitchen in New Haven, a glass of wine in hand, his family nearby. He looked great. He was smiling.
He was waving goodbye.
C. K.
12.21.13
10:26
I followed your tenure as president of the AIGA back in 1996. I told you I wasn’t sure I was ready --but you reassured me and said that you had “cleaned up house”, the organization was on its way to a good financial footing and it was ready for me and my vision. You said it was my time and I am grateful for your trust.
Like all your friends who knew you, in Design and beyond, we contemplate a world without your guidance and wise counsel. Dear Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona, --Richard and I, together with our sons, Max and Rafe extend our sincere condolences and love to you during this time.
--Lucille
12.21.13
10:30
With deepest sympathy to Jessica, his children and those nearest to them.
12.21.13
10:35
My deepest sympathy to you and Malcolm and Fiona. I do hope you all will feel this collective embrace from your community. Look at these comments and see Bill's touch on so many lives and careers. With one phone call in 2007, he changed my life with a magnificent year long project.
The ripple effect of his time with us all will be long and enduring. He will be missed.
All our love.
12.22.13
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01:20
My sincere condolences to Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona.
12.22.13
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02:24
Bill had such passion for design and designers, books and writing, social good and cultural virtue. He was articulate, knowledgeable and persuasive, totally committed to causes and initiatives that benefited art and design. He put his love and money behind the Winterhouse Foundation, which enabled writers on design issues to evolve their craft. He was a businessman with an artist’s heart and soul. He had ideals and dreams but he was a pragmatist: Sustainability was his talent.
I met him, figuratively, decades ago, when he was the name of the advertising executive, Miles Drenttel, on “ThirtySomething.” At that time he was the business partner of Drenttel Doyle, but he was so much more. He was the creative searching for his outlet – his métier. I actually met him at the Greenwich Village Book Fair. He was selling books. I bought a copy of one with an Alvin Lustig cover. We talked for a while and I knew he was a kindred spirit.
A few years later, we met at an AIGA retreat in Hilton Head. After long conversations about our various loves (and hates), I urged him to run for AIGA president. I was editor of the AIGA Journal and he was chair of the publishing committee. It was Bill who said, why don’t we make it into a “real” magazine (not just a newsletter). If not for Bill it would not have happened. He had the gumption and talent to make what he proposed happen – when something was on his mind it became real.
We worked together on the Looking Closer series. Each of the editors brought their various interests to the fore – Bill’s were literary. He already had published contemporary authors through his own press, and with LC he integrated them into the design discourse.
I was with him when he met Jessica Helfand. Bill was recently divorced, when he found Jessica, as smart and sharp as the proverbial tack, they immediately fell in love. He told me so. He had no idea that they would become such an amazing design team, but it was their destiny.
Destiny is such a screwy concept. It suggests everything will occur on schedule according to a grand plan. It was right that Bill and Jessica form a partnership, make a family, have a business and be successful as creators, catalysts and influences. I hate the idea that it was destiny that Bill would cram it all into so few years and then it is legacy.
I wish his death did not come so soon. Its just simply and tragically unfair.
12.22.13
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06:27
In 2010, Bill invited me to return to DO as a contributor, along with several other regular writers. I owe him a huge amount for this. There can be no greater gift to a writer than a venue to write whatever you want whenever you feel like it. It was good to be in touch with him again on a regular basis and I have missed him greatly in the months of his illness. A few years ago, Bill came to see me where I live just outside London and we spent a lovely evening talking in the garden of a pub overlooking the River Thames before going for a meal. If not for the distance, I know I would have seen a lot more of him. I shall always remember these meetings, conversations and acts of kindness. I’m so glad to have known him.
12.22.13
06:48
Warmest sympathies to Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona.
12.22.13
10:05
A terrible loss for all of design. He did great things and even changed the world a bit for the better.
12.22.13
10:37
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11:24
My sincere condolences to Bill's family, his colleagues and the many others whose lives he touched.
12.22.13
11:42
Charles, Jack, Cora, and my condolences are with you Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona, please know the world is a better place for Bill, and through his relationships with you all (and we all!) his presence will continue to resonate.
12.22.13
11:52
Later, after I got to know Bill well, I realized that she was right. He would have found the book, and probably owned it. Bill's familiarity with literature was mightily impressive and inseparable from the values that directed his life. Once, when he told me about a business decision he had made, I asked, "Are you too good to be true?"
He smiled "No," he said. "But Jessica is."
12.22.13
01:42
I just found out about Bill and I am in a state of shock. I think of Bill brilliant mind and I think of you, and your tremendous loss, and I think of Fiona who I love and Malcom.
I am terribly saddened by Bill loss and I want to express to all of you my love and sympathy.
Yours, Massimo
12.22.13
01:47
My sympathies Jessica to you and to your family.
12.22.13
02:44
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12.22.13
11:49
I was fortunate to meet Bill and Jessica in 2009, during the opening of The Polling Place Photo Project at the Hartford Art School. I was awestruck by their remarkable personalities and quick-witted humor. Over the following years, I encountered Bill at conferences and he was always an exemplary mentor to look out to, for students as well as more seasoned designers. I am eternally thankful for the opportunity he provided me to be part of a group of educators who strive for making design an agent of social change. Also for the chance to learn more from him in the past three years. I knew last August that Bill’s indomitable spirit wanted to make Winterhouse Symposium a memorable one. It was for all of us who had one more chance to spend time with him for three days. As a visionary, Bill was restless; so I bet in this next phase, his spirit will continue making connections in the heavens.
I am sending a warm embrace for Jessica, and my heartfelt condolences to Malcolm and Fiona. The memory of Bill will always be in the hearts of everyone lucky to have met him, and in the legacy of his vision for a better world.
12.23.13
12:31
The relationships, connections, ideas and projects that have been triggered by the ’09 Aspen Design Summit alone are an astounding tribute to Bill. I have no doubt that those of us who found each other through Bill will take his tragic death as renewed inspiration to carry forward his deep dedication to design-driven social justice.
I’m heartbroken by his loss and my deepest sympathy goes out to Jessica and their children.
12.23.13
12:41
The loneliness I feel is tempered by the realization that I have now a job to do: strive to be the sort of intellectual who, like Bill, is not intellectual. It is a tall order in France, where people with a mind cultivate a sort of arrogance that is truly unbecoming. Bill was a gracious thinker. What a role model for me. I know now what I have to do.
12.23.13
05:40
Jessica, Malcolm, and Fiona, my deepest sympathy.
12.23.13
07:14
One is that, back in the old days, meaning the Drenttel Doyle era, I would occasionally run into Bill at parties. And suddenly the conversation would shift from the easy patter of the design world to something more serious and intense. I can't remember the content of these conversations, just how they felt: walking into the ocean when you suddenly step from the shallow water to the place where your feet no longer touch bottom.
The other is that I once visited Bill and Jessica at Winterhouse, maybe before their renovation of the place was complete. I don't remember the reason for the visit or when it occurred. My best guess is that I was on a scouting trip early in the life of Dwell. What I recall thinking was what an extraordinarily wonderful life B & J were creating for themselves, their kids, and their colleagues. Later, we published their workspace/library in Dwell -- I think Julie Lasky wrote the article -- as the exemplary home office. I was glad to have it in the magazine, but I didn't think it was fair, even as aspirational piece. It wasn't really a home office; it was more like Shangri La. (And, no, I'm not referring to the hotel chain.)
Bill was someone I respected and admired. I'm deeply sorry that he's gone.
12.23.13
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10:34
Our heartfelt condolences go out to Jessica, Fiona, and Malcolm.
12.23.13
10:38
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12.23.13
12:12
Carlos Fuentes wrote about the exceptional people who carry their own sun with them, it seems appropriate to borrow these words now to express the generous spirit of Bill. We met briefly, but that was enough to understand his generosity, intelligence and grace.
My sincere condolences to Jessica, his children and the D.O. family.
12.23.13
12:18
While we mourn what might have been down the road, my thoughts are also with his family and their loss of his presence.
12.23.13
12:26
On a personal note, I'm grateful that I got the chance to work with Bill on the Winterhouse Writing Awards, and only wish the program could have reached the potential he imagined for it. I'm also glad to have acquired some of Bill & Jessica's delicious Winterhouse maple syrup one year, which I bought at the AIGA gala auction. I felt lucky then, but feel even luckier now because I got to experience these sides of him while he was with us.
12.23.13
12:39
12.23.13
12:50
My impression of and respect for Bill came later
when he and Jessica established Design Observer.
From its contributors and content I suspected
that Bill and I were kindred spirits.
That suspicion was confirmed when he issued a
publication devoted to the work of Imre Reiner.
Jessica, I hope you will have the strength and support
to continue Design Observer.
George Tscherny
12.23.13
01:20
His charisma and thoughts from AIGA conferences and writings have stayed with me for years--not only because of his ideas but also because of his talent as a partner as well as a polymath. I knew Bill only from quick introductions and his many-faceted work, but that didn't decrease his impact.
Rigorous, analytical, and game-changing, Bill and Jessica were also glamourous. Brilliance casts a light. Perpetual light.
Heartfelt condolences to Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.23.13
01:37
My thoughts to Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.23.13
02:00
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02:33
12.23.13
03:19
Jessica, my thoughts and prayers are with you, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.23.13
03:28
Bill helped me find a place to live. He gave me books to read — he somehow got me to read Wittgenstein so we could debate his points on color theory together. He and Jessica made some fantastic dinners for our late nights in the studio. They were incredibly generous with their home. Sometimes I played their piano on my lunch break. Once, Bill loaned me his car to drive to New Haven. Bill and Jessica had a BBQ for my parents when they came to visit that summer. Bill loved spy stories and one night we knocked off work early one night to see Spy Game. He enjoyed it, but, ever the perfectionist, he suggested a few improvements — I agreed with every one. I remember all of this like it was yesterday. I knew such kindness was rare then; I know even better how rare it is now.
He was a thoughtful teacher, especially in the classroom of life. He took me to book barns around Winterhouse and showed me what he looked for. His library was such a remarkable, living resource for the studio’s work. We were working on a newspaper project and he dropped a pile of books from the library on my desk about newspaper design methods and history and asked me to look through them. At first I thought, Where did he get all these books on such an obscure subject? But everything made Bill curious. On our way to the first presentation, Bill asked me what I’d learned from his improvised syllabus. I rambled a bit, and tried to answer his many thoughtful questions. When we arrived at the meeting, Bill had synthesized them all into an precise, compelling presentation, far wiser than anything I had told him. In that moment, he showed me that the best teacher is always a student — it is a lesson I have never forgotten.
When Kevin and I started Giampietro+Smith, Bill offered to be the chairman of our board for the first few years. I marveled at how he could manage it among the million other things he did, but he seemed to love it, and his energy gave us confidence, especially at the beginning. So often he was much more than a great creative director — he was a champion for what design could be, for what people could be. He believed in people’s best selves and settled for nothing less.
Bill always encouraged me to write. My first published piece, about default systems in graphic design, came from a conversation I had with him. He always advocated for my writing and encouraged me to contribute to Design Observer and Looking Closer and more. He believed in the potential for an expanded design discourse and dedicated his life to pushing the boundaries of what that meant with almost everything he did.
I will always cherish my time with Bill. Much love and heartfelt thoughts to Jessica, Malcolm, Fiona, and friends in this difficult time.
12.23.13
03:46
The spirit-- never dies.
12.23.13
04:16
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12.23.13
06:17
We knew he was a gift, and dear Jessica and the kids surely take solace in that every day. But that's not enough to stem the deep feeling of immense loss. Everybody, everybody, everybody is hurting.
12.23.13
09:21
12.23.13
09:24
My deepest condolences to Jessica and the kids, his friends and co-conspirators at DO and to all of us, as designers, who have lost a force in our midst. May be rest in peace.
12.23.13
09:42
To want more is human. To expect more is unfair. Bill gave the world everything he had. We were fortunate to be the recipients of his gifts.
My condolences to his family and closest friends. The Bill YOU ALL shared was a gift to all of us. His grace, intellect, passion, compassion and love for the world were in evident every time I had the fortune to meet him.
Thank you, Bill. You gave it all away.
12.23.13
11:13
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12.24.13
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12.24.13
09:16
He'll be missed. What a shock.
Very Respectfully,
12.24.13
09:31
12.24.13
10:58
I will be forever grateful for all his encouragement, his intelligence, his contribution to our profession.
Rocco
12.24.13
11:47
12.24.13
01:55
It was a wonderful gesture, but totally normal coming from the man eulogized here.
12.24.13
02:00
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12.26.13
03:17
Bill was a generous mentor to me, offering advice and genuine insight to help guide my career. Just the fact that he would take my call while we were starting out, a small unknown studio, speaks to Bill's overall commitment to nurturing talent within our field in general.
My condolences to Jessica and his children-- he will be missed by our community.
12.26.13
09:35
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09:37
12.27.13
09:31
May it always be so for Jessica and his children, whose memories are far more valuable and even more blessed.
12.27.13
10:41
12.29.13
02:57
I didn't really know Bill then, and I expected a brief conversation with maybe a few leads, but we talked for more than an hour and one of the many happy results has been an exciting and productive partnership between Design Observer and Places.
Working with Bill has been a pleasure and privilege; not only because he was extraordinarily talented and fiercely intelligent but also because he was so warm, generous and compassionate.
Heartfelt sympathy to Jessica, Malcolm and Fiona.
12.30.13
04:10
12.30.13
05:08
I was lucky to work onsite at Winterhouse with Bill and Jessica on the creation CIO Insight magazine. The studio was magical and secluded--a place to revel in and be active in the design process, creating a publication without any outside interruptions.
I will always remember my time there--when Bill & Jessica opened their studio, their home and their minds to me.
We will miss his brilliance and generosity.
12.31.13
11:59
Because he was here.
Deepest sympathy to dear Jessica and your children.
12.31.13
01:22
And he made it look so easy. An inspiration. We will all miss him.
12.31.13
03:15
Though I didn't know it at the time, Bill's training was the catalyst that sparked the launch of my own business in 2000. I thank Bill for being such a wonderful teacher and inspiration. Reading about Bill's career today, I am in awe of the many lives he touched. Thank you, Bill. I send my love to his family.
12.31.13
06:39
Jessica, I am thinking of you and your family, and send you much love.
01.02.14
01:51
It will be hard for any one of us to ever match the full extent of Bill's intelligence, generosity and dedication to design. We know the time and concern he put into advancing leadership initiatives, our causes, and our needs. We know the countless hours he spent behind the scenes where so much of the hard work is done, where there is so little that makes headlines and so much that makes a difference. Bill could take issue without taking offense, and he was always a gentleman. If that's an example of design at its best, let us hope that it always has a place in our future.
Some of us will remember Bill's dry --- often self-deprecating --- sense of humor, which proved that a person of serious purpose need never take himself too seriously. But as we honor Bill's memory, let's not forget the single quality that made him unique, the quality that made him powerful, made him beloved: his character as a great father and husband. I am certain that Jessica, Fiona and Malcolm will draw strength from his remarkable legacy of kindness and generosity.
The spirit of Bill's character is a powerful representation for what this season should be about. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family.
01.02.14
04:11
Dear Jessica, Bill will be dearly remembered
my love to you and your beloved children
01.02.14
05:36
Over the years a number of legendary designers I've known and respected have passed away. However, Bill's contributions to the graphic design profession were especially unique, and the void that his absence leaves is profound.
Jessica, my prayers are with you and your children.
01.07.14
04:04
He was catalyst, a force that brought people and ideas together, zapped them with energy, and then provided the space for them to flourish. The perfect example being this website where so many of us have tested out ideas, exchanged knowledge, and have been given the rare opportunity to explore our passions.
Bill was generous, intellectually fierce and driven: he was a visionary. He was also good fun. I recall an evening of drinks at a bar on a rainy evening in New York. He had spent the day hustling between meetings in order to drum up sponsorship for the Design Observer. It was supposed to be a quick drink but one scotch led to a quite a few. We talked about Paul Auster and Chris Marker, about his daughter Fiona’s drawing exchange with Massimo Vignelli, about his ambitions for this website. He combined the enthusiasm of a collage student, the sharpness of a CEO, and the warmth of an old buddy. It was the first time we had met one-to-one. I eventually ventured a few writing ideas. He encouraged me, and I was grateful.
It was still raining when we stepped outside. We shook hands in the doorway; we might have embraced. He furtively pulled out a cigarette, lit up, strode across the sidewalk, stood under a tree and called his wife, Jessica, on his cell phone. The collar of his jacket was flipped up rakishly. A car was angling out out of a parking space and for a moment the headlights lit him up like they were klieg lights. I remember thinking: I’d do anything for that guy.
He gave so much, both to the people he met and more generally to the design profession. Collectively, I hope we can continue his distinguished and powerful legacy.
01.09.14
11:34
I immediately thought to myself, what a wonderful person and mentor. I am proud to be part of the world of design that Bill has helped to shape.
01.09.14
01:25
01.19.14
02:24