Cheryl D. Miller

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For other people named Cheryl Miller, see Cheryl Miller (disambiguation).

Cheryl D. Miller
Cheryl-Miller-2021.jpg
Cheryl D. Miller in 2021
Born1952 (age 68–69)
Washington, D.C., United States
Alma materMaryland Institute College of Art
Pratt Institute
Union Theological Seminary (New York City)
OccupationWriter
theologian
graphic designer
Known forDecolonization of Graphic Design
Notable work
Transcending the Problems of the Black Designer to Success in the Marketplace (1985)
Black Designers Missing in Action (1987)
AwardsAIGA Medalist “Expanding Access” 2021
Websitehttps://www.cdholmesmiller.com/

Cheryl D. Holmes Miller (born 1952) is an American graphic designer, Christian minister, writer, artist, theologian, and decolonizing historian. She is known for her contributions to racial and gender equality in the graphic design field, and establishing one of the first black women owned design firms in New York City in 1984. Her alma mater are the Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute, and Union Theological.

Early life and education[]

Miller is of African American and Philippine American and identifies as BIPOC. Her paternal family is from Washington, D.C. and her maternal family is Filipino Creole from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Cheryls grandmother was an indigenous Danish west Indian and Ghanaian. Her great-great grandmother is of Ghanaian descent from St. Johns. Her Philippine grandfather was part of the U.S. Filipino navy as a stewards cooks during WWI in 1917. Her grandparents met at the USO and married. Having three Filipino lineages of their own, Miller's mother being one of them. Her mother, a Filipino-Creole, came to the United States to attend Howard University. Her maternal Afro-Caribbean Saint-Tomian cousin Larry was installed as a chief of their tribe. Their tribe are artisans, specifically shipbuilders, wood carvers and make decorative coffins. Her paternal grandfather was white and American Indian with Patriotic daughters of American Revolution DNA.[1]

Millers parents met at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where they settled and began the family of their own. She was a Girl Scout and when she won her first award she was published on the section covers of The Washington Post and Washington Star. As a child, Miller spent most of her days at museums looking at an era of contemporary art and the cadre of Washington color field schools. In 1969, Miller's teacher told her that she will never make it as an artist. Millers experiences and heritage specifically became formative to her art practice.[1]

Miller graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School. In 1985, she received a Masters of Science in Visual Communications at the Pratt Institute.[2] As a thesis project, she was asked to make a contribution to the field of graphic design and instead of a visual design project she wrote "Transcending the Problems of the Black Designer to Success in the Marketplace" as her thesis.[3][4] In 1987, Print Magazine published her thesis titled "Black Designers Missing in Action."[5][6] This started a movement to research and promote more diverse designers.[7]

She later attended the Rhode Island School of Design but when Miller's father died, she transferred to Maryland Institute College of Art where she live closer to her mother.[3]

Miller was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, February 2021. This honor was highlighted by Hyperallergic in 2021.

Career[]

After finishing school, she worked in broadcast design where she created on-air sets and graphics.[8] During this time she created the logo and identity for BET. After 10 years in broadcasting, she moved to New York City and attended Pratt Institute, and then graduated from Union Theological Seminary.

Writing[]

In 1990, by Step-by-Step magazine published "Embracing Cultural Diversity in Design". In 2013 she wrote a memoir, Black Coral: A Daughter's Apology to her Asian Island Mother.[9]

Miller's articles are the cornerstone of AIGA's Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce.[8] She is further regarded as a trade writer to the graphic design industry.

Miller's influence on the way contemporary graphic designers critically engage with the discipline. Her influence on the direction of the field and creators who make up its community as demonstrated in a professional reflection by Tré Seals the founder of diversity driven foundry Vocal Type. Miller's thesis was later highlighted as crucial text that paved the way for Black designers.[10] And on December 17, 2020, Miller spoke with Doreen Lorenzo for Designing Women calling her a social justice leader who has been fighting for inclusion for over 50 years.[11]

On September 28, 2020, Design Observer's Editors highlighted Miller's perspective on exclusive history of design and her recent work decolonizing the history of graphic design through a curated database titled The History of Black Graphic Design, a curated database constructed with the support of Stanford University librarians[12]

Published on Medium in 2020 as part of Future of Design in Higher Education[13] after watching Miller present at IIT Institute of Design, Eugene Korsunskiy writes about their experience listening to Miller share her views about contemporary graphic design elements that symbolize racism and oppression.

I would like to retire the Paul Rand look. I would like to retire mid-century Helvetica. I want to retire flush left. I want to retire rag right. I want to retire white space. I want to retire the Swiss grid… It is the look of my oppressor… a mid-century era when it wasn’t easy to enter the NY marketplace as a Black designer. When I see that look, the only thing it says to me is, "You cannot enter. You don't belong. You're not good enough."[14]

Design[]

From 1984 to 2000, Miller ran her own design studio, Cheryl D. Miller Design Inc.[8] Some of the clients included BET, Chase, Time Inc., and American Express. Her personal work was acquired by Stanford University Libraries.[15] She is further collected at The Poster House, New York, and The Design Museum, The Hague.[citation needed]

Available on YouTube, Miller reflects on your long career as a designer. She showcases pieces from her portfolio that are now part of Stanford University's Special Collections and Archives.[16]

On April 3, 2021, Miller was an expert guest on the Design Dedux podcast, where she spoke about gender and race equality in graphic design.[17]

In 1992, Miller was commissioned by NASA to create the poster for Dr. Mae Jeminson. America's first African American woman astronaut.[18]

Christian ministry[]

She is a Master of Divinity graduate from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She was ordained in the United Church of Christ and the American Baptist Churches USA.After 35 years of making her contributions and obtaining her theological degree, Miller moved to Connecticut to settle down and raise her family. Miller is also a professional Christian minister.[1]

Awards and residencies[]

AIGA Medal awarded to Miller in 2021 for Expanding Access

In 2021, Miller was awarded an AIGA Award, one of the highest distinctions in the design field, to designers whose influence, careers, and bodies of work represent exemplary and unique stories of dedication to craft, career growth, and the tightly woven fabric of design, technology, culture, and society. "Miller is recognized for her outsized influence within the profession to end the marginalization of BIPOC designers through her civil rights activism, industry exposé writing, research rigor, and archival vision."[19] She joins the list of AIGA medalists that includes notable black designers Aaron Douglas, Emory Douglas, and Sylvia Harris.

During the 2020 academic year, Miller became the Distinguished Senior Lecturer for Design and Designer in Residence at the University of Texas at Austin.[20] She is also a faculty member at Howard University and Lesley University College of Art and Design where she teaches graphic design.[21]

In 2021, Cheryl became Maryland Institute College of Art William O. Steinzmetz Designer In Residence Scholar.[22] As part of this residency, Miller participated in “Voices: Black Graphic Design History,” where she held conversations with three other Steinmetz D webinar lectures.[23]

Miller was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, February 2021.[24][25][26] In 2021, she was awarded the AIGA Medal for her "civil rights activism, industry exposé writing, research rigor, and archival vision" in the design industry.[19]

Bibliography[]

  • Cheryl D Miller (May 1985). "Black Designers Missing in Action". Scribd. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  • Black Coral: A Daughter’s Apology to her Asian Island Mother, Aage Heritage Press, 2013. ISBN 9780989263207
  • Cheryl D Miller (October 2020). "Trilogy Series Black Designers Missing in Action". PRINT. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  • Cheryl D Miller (December 2020). "From 'Black Designers: Missing in Action' to 'Forward in Action': 3 Essential Industry Articles". PRINT. Retrieved 2021-01-06.

List of work and collaborative experiences[]

Collections and exhibitions[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Cheryl D. Miller: The History of 'Where are the Black designers?'". September 9, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Washington, Michele Y. (November 16, 2015). "Cheryl D. Miller". The Professional Association for Design. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Cherry, Maurice (June 25, 2018). "Cheryl D. Miller". Revision Path. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Miller, Cheryl (June 16, 2020). "TRANSCENDING THE PROBLEMS OF THE BLACK GRAPHIC DESIGNER TO SUCCESS IN THE MARKETPLACE" (PDF).
  5. ^ University, Stanford (July 11, 2018). "How one question led to new Stanford archive". Stanford News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Heller, Steven (June 18, 2019). Teaching Graphic Design History. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-62153-685-7.
  7. ^ Scherling, Laura; DeRosa, Andrew (February 20, 2020). Ethics in Design and Communication: Critical Perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-07701-0.
  8. ^ a b c "Cheryl D. Miller's Design Journey". AIGA | the professional association for design. November 16, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. ^ November 16; 2015. "Cheryl D. Miller's Design Journey". AIGA | the professional association for design. Retrieved September 2, 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Typography is the root of graphic design – we should use it to be vocal". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  11. ^ Lorenzo, Doreen (December 17, 2020). "'They've stolen our history': Why one designer has been fighting for inclusion for 50 years". Fast Company. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Terms of Service : September Edition". Design Observer. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Future of Design in Higher Education – Medium". Medium. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Korsunskiy, Eugene (September 24, 2020). "Dismantling White Supremacy in Design Classrooms: My Conversation With Design Guru Cheryl D. Miller". Medium. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Famed graphic designer and racial, cultural and gender equity advocate Cheryl D. Miller donates personal archive to Stanford Libraries". Stanford Libraries. Stanford University. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "The Cheryl D Miller Portfolio 2020 – YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  17. ^ "036. Cheryl D. Holmes Miller on Gender and Race Equality in Graphic Design (S4E4) – Peter Bella". Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. ^ Roberts, Regina. "The Diversity, Advocacy, & Inclusion work of Cheryl D. Miller". Design Diversity Group. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Press Releases | Meet AIGA's Awards Recipients, representing the vibrant spectrum of design excellence | AIGA". www.aiga.org. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  20. ^ "Cheryl D. Miller, M.S., M.Div - School of Design and Creative Technologies - The University of Texas at Austin". College of Fine Arts - University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  21. ^ "Cheryl D. Miller | Lesley University". lesley.edu. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "MICA names four William O. Steinmetz '50 Designers-in-Residence, bringing together three generations of cultural activists". MICA. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  23. ^ "Baltimore Fishbowl | The history of Black graphic design, explored by MICA -". Baltimore Fishbowl. March 31, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  24. ^ "Cheryl D. Miller to Receive Honorary Degree". Vermont College of Fine Arts. February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  25. ^ Cheryl Miller Honorary Doctorate by VCFA Board of Trustees and President, as nominated by the Graphi, retrieved February 24, 2021
  26. ^ Bowditch, Alexandra (February 9, 2021). "Vermont College of Fine Arts Honors Cheryl D. Miller, Tireless Advocate for Black Graphic Designers". Hyperallergic. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g Cheryl D., Miller. "Experience". LinkedIn. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  28. ^ "Famed graphic designer and racial, cultural and gender equity advocate Cheryl D. Miller donates personal archive to Stanford Libraries". Stanford Libraries. May 16, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  29. ^ a b c "About Cheryl D. Miller Fine Art". Cheryl D. Miller Fine Art. 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

External links[]

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