It was towards the end of January. I received a text from Rami asking to chat. I figured he wanted to talk about some simple website update or new business idea that he needed help to flesh out. Basically, business as usual. 

The phone call wasn’t all that long. I don’t remember many details from the conversation, but it consisted of two bombshells:

1. I have cancer.

2. I would like to give you the Elements2 Design business.

I sat motionless after the phone call, unsure of how to process the information. Having lived through cancer journeys of many loved ones, my mind naturally went dark. As for the second bit of news? The utter generosity of the offer was mind boggling. Who so simply gives away an entire business? Rami does.

Rami and I first met over fifteen years ago at the Academy of Art University. I was pursuing my second degree in graphic design, and Rami routinely worked with students to create mock-ups of package design ideas through California Model and Design, his primary business venture. My package design instructor invited me to meet with Rami because he needed help with a personal project. That personal project turned out to be Shadow Magnets. Shadow Magnets was already being sold at museum stores across the nation at this point, but it needed a cohesive package system to give it stronger shelf presence. And just like that, even before graduating from design school, Rami gave me my first opportunity to design my first commercial project. 

Rami and I worked on more branding and design projects together in the ensuing years. Blind Date. Kosters. Pendulums. Re•pose. Silhouettes. I never really could figure out how he found the time or bandwidth to develop these side projects, but knowing Rami, being creative and entrepreneurial was just who he was. He regularly interacted with creative minds from different fields, so making stuff happens organically.

In 2008, Rami brought up the idea of building up the presence of Elements2 Design. Up to this point, each product line existed as its own brand with its own website and ordering process. The name merely showed up in small print on the packages within the copyright info as “eLeMentS2 Design.” The oddball capitalizations puzzled me until he explained how L, M, and S  are the initials of his three daughters. Being a private person, Rami never talked specifically about his family much, but he clearly cherished them. Having his daughters incorporated in some way meant a lot to him. And there I was, the young know-it-all telling him that the initials needed to go. Rami reluctantly agreed. Together, we launched the Elements2 Design website with all of the different product lines under one company name.

As the years progressed, my involvement with Elements2 extended beyond that of a graphic designer. More than once, I’ve asked him, “Are you sure you want to trust me with all this?!” He has always answered in the affirmative without hesitation. A fellow classmate at the Academy of Art once commented, “He has kind eyes.” He really does. Throughout the years, I would refer to Rami as my client, but that moniker never felt right. Only after that somber January phone call did I realize what Rami was to me. Rami was my mentor, in life and in my career. He has watched out for me and connected me to opportunities that I never would have encountered on my own. 

Rami passed away on April 4, 2021, lovingly surrounded by his family. The last time I saw him was two days after the phone call back in January. It was a socially distanced visit since Covid was raging and vaccines were still scarce. He did his best to give a crash course on running the business. We figured that the transition process would be ongoing.  Whenever I asked about how the business would operate without him, he would always gently remind me that he was still here. Neither of us expected him to be gone two months later. I still have many things to learn about running Elements2 Design, but Rami always put such great trust in my abilities. That faith gives me courage to do what needs to be done to carry on Elements2 Design.

Since his passing, I’ve gotten to learn more about Rami’s life through stories shared by friends and family. It’s bittersweet. His official obituary can be found here. I never knew about his involvement with NIAD, but I recall seeing the art exhibitions at Yali’s Cafe on the UC Berkeley campus. The family plans to install a water fountain at NIAD’s garden courtyard to honor his memory. More information about the fountain may be found here.

I liken Rami to The Most Interesting Man in the World. He was always traveling somewhere, developing some interesting venture with an innovative client, or working on a new personal project of some sort, be it a backyard playground for his grandchildren or an inflatable ball made using local, recycled materials. I got lucky having met him. Getting to be part of his life, even if it was only a small part? That’s just gravy.