Tara Hunt: My Cindy Li Story

Cindy Li was someone whose talent I was in absolute awe of. I heard of her before I met her. I fell in love with a t-shirt design at an event and practically attacked the person wearing it to find out where they got it.

I remember it well. It was a simple row of icons: geeky glasses, a heart and an asterisk. The wearer told me that someone named “Cindy Li” had designed it and I could buy it online.

By the time I met her in person, I had this vision of an artist in my mind of someone 10-feet tall wearing all-black, wearing super funky glasses. But there she was, standing in front of me, just over 5-feet tall, wearing a bright pink t-shirt, hair in piggy tails, wearing the biggest, warmest smile I had ever encountered.

Cindy made everyone around her happier. Her art brought so much delight, she was the first person to crack a joke or make a face when the mood got heavy, and she bent over backwards to make sure everyone was taken care of. I never stopped being in awe of her massive talent.

So, when I needed a book cover designed, I couldn’t think of anyone else I wanted to design this cover. It had to be Cindy. I didn’t care what it would cost (though I’m pretty sure she undercharged me)! My publisher had sent me a terrible design, but truth be told, I was likely going to approach Cindy about helping either way.

She tells the story from her angle here.

After I moved away from San Francisco, I lost touch with so many people, including Cindy. So when I was visiting last summer and heard that Cindy was battling cancer, I had so many regrets. I knew she had bigger things to deal with than my needing to make up for lost time, so Liza Sperling, Seth Blank, Kaitlin Pike, my husband Carlos and I got together and made a music video (Matt said that this was one of her favorite songs) and sent it to her with a note that I think of her often. I hope it gave even an iota of the happiness she gave me and so many others over the years.

I was heartbroken to hear that cancer won the battle last week. Cindy Li IS/WAS awesome and everyone DOES/DID love her. We’ve lost such a treasure.