I have always wanted to be a designer. Although I studied to be an architect, I’ve long been fascinated by the power of visual communications, using graphics, color, shapes, forms and type to inform, persuade, communicate. I am lucky that my favorite uncle, Tom Lee, was a graphic designer in Hawaii, the first in the state and in my opinion the best. First Hawaiian Bank’s logo was one of his many logo designs and it has stood the test of time...it’s 50 years old this year. In the design world, there are few individuals who have made as significant a mark in the field as Charles and Ray Eames. They lived and breathed design. The Eames lounge chair is iconic and instantly recognizable as an Eames. I was very fortunate to be a student of the Eames while in graduate school at UCLA’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning...I was in awe just being in their presence. My uncle and the Eames are my design heroes.