About
Don’s story is profoundly American — from humble beginnings as a child of pioneering parents on the California coast to a life spent doing what he most loved to do. He was an artist making art and a designer designing for people. Perhaps it’s really a profoundly human story. Pulling from deep inside himself, from history, culture, and bringing out the best of those around him to create meaning and beauty. And from that meaning and beauty, generating more curiosity, energy, and love for simply being alive.
In 1998 Don curated an exhibit that featured the work of Cranbrook Academy of Art graduates on display in the halls of Herman Miller’s design facility. One intention of the exhibit was to highlight the shared relationship between art and design. Slender banners hung throughout the exhibit hallways suspending quotes on the subject from history’s artists and designers. One such banner carried the words of the curator:
“Design gives form to the creative act. Art describes its level of excellence.” –Don Shepherd
This site carves out a space in the human continuum of creativity and thought for Don’s art and design. It's also a place to uncover what Don believed in — our ability to create in a way that establishes higher levels of meaning and connection with everything and everyone around us — and that this is a nurturing force.
John Hetrick In 1994, I was just out of design school and an intern at the Herman Miller Design Yard in Holland, Michigan, when I met Don. I was working in product development, and one of my first assignments was to be on a team called, “Ambient Design.” Of course, it was Don’s project, who as an independent designer had established an Advance Research Program with Herman Miller. It had tangible product deliverables, but also a more elusive component — to better understand what Don referred to as “Ambient Design.” He described it as a philosophy, a design process, and a way of generating a natural by-product of human nurturing. My job was to listen and document.
In 1995, Don invited me to be a part of the Ambient Design Company. Over the next six years, he was my mentor, business partner, and friend. Today, more than 30 years later, this site represents a continuation of my initial project with Don — a celebration of his life’s work and thinking, and a continued exploration for deeper understanding. Let the existence of this site be seen as evidence of the long threads of that nurturing woven together, many times over and in countless shapes.
“The best part about this process is that it's not something new that you have to learn — you inherently already know it — and nurturing comes as a free residual.” –D.A.S.
Don Shepherd and John Hetrick — First day of the Ambient Design Studio, Holland, Michigan, 1995
This site was created with the support of Susan Monroe, Don’s widow, and keeper of select pieces from Don’s life in art and design. Don also left behind voluminous documentation of his work and thinking, which is being uncovered, restored, and seen here for the first time. Use the message form below if you’d like contact us about Don’s life and legacy.