Bill Drenttel

Bill Drenttel was a designer, author, publisher, social entrepreneur and foundation executive. Beginning in 1997, he worked in partnership with Jessica Helfand at Winterhouse, a design consultancy focusing on editorial development and online media; cultural and educational institutions; and social innovation initiatives. From 1985 – 1997, Bill was the president of Drenttel Doyle Partners. One of the leading design firms in America, the firm won over 300 design awards. And, from 1977 - 1985, he was a senior vice president at Saatchi & Saatchi, where he managed accounts for Procter & Gamble and AT&T, and was responsible for launching Pampers in Italy and cellular telephones in America.

Bill was the president emeritus of AIGA, a fellow of NYU Institute of the Humanities and a senior faculty fellow and social enterprise fellow at Yale School of Management. In 2002, he co-founded Design Observer, a site of design news and cultural criticism: today, the site is a leading design publication with over a million site visits a month.

In 2010, Bill was elected to the Art Directors Hall of Fame and the Alliance Graphique Internationale, and was the first Henry Wolf Resident in Graphic Design at the American Academy in Rome. He lectured widely in the U.S. and abroad.

Unfortunately Bill passed away in 2013, but his passion for design and social good lives on in his work and continues to inspire designers today.