User:GraciLouAckerman/Cheryl D. Miller

Cheryl D. Miller
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. Her alma mater are the Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute, and Union Theological.

She is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer for Design at the University of Texas at Austin and faculty member at Lesley University College of Art and Design where she teaches graphic design.

In 2020 she was a Designer in Residence at the University of Texas at Austin School of Design and Creative Technologies. And then in 2021 she became a Distinguished Scholar in Virtual Residence at Roger Williams University.

Early life
Miller was raised in a multiracial and multicultural family, knowing since the young age of three that she wanted to be an artist. Miller grew-up during the Civil Rights era. Cheryls grandmother was an indigenous Danish west Indian and Ghanian. 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 cheif 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.

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 the section covers of The Washington Post and Washington Star. Influential moments of Millers adolescence were, Mickey Mouse, animation, and John Naugy. While most kids found themselves partaking in dance classes, or art classes, Miller spent most of her days in the museum's looking at an era of contemporary art and the cadre of Washington color field schools.

Into Millers teen years, she was still witnessing and experiencing major historical events in the United States. She started to tour colleges the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Applying to schools and collecting all the documents and information that was needed was just one hurdle that Miller was forced to overcome. During the year of 1969, she faced adversity with one of the teachers at her high school. Being told on numerous occasions by her teacher that she will never make it as an artist. Millers experiences and heritage specifically became formative to her art practice.

Education
Miller graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School. In 1985, she received a Masters of Science in Visual Communications at the Pratt Institute. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design. When Miller's father died, she transferred to Maryland Institute College of Art where she live closer to her mother.

After finishing school, she worked in broadcast design where she created on-air sets and graphics. 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. She graduated from Union Theological Seminary.

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.

Writing
 Transcending the Problems of the Black Designer to Success in the Marketplace 

Before graduating, Miller was asked to make a contribution to the field of graphic design, instead of the usual visual design project. In 1985, Miller wrote her graphic design thesis called, "Transcending the Problems of the Black Designer to Success in the Marketplace." In 1987, Print Magazine published her thesis titled "Black Designers Missing in Action." Her thesis started a movement to research and promote more diverse designers.

 Embracing Cultural Diversity in Design 

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.

Miller's articles are the cornerstone of AIGA's Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce. 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. Both Miller's thesis "Black Designers Missing In Action" and "Black Designers: Still Missing In Action" were highlighted as crucial text that paved the way for Black designers. 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.

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.

Published on Medium in 2020 as part of Future of Design in Higher Education 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.’'"

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

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.

Christian ministry
Miller is also a professional Christian minister. 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.

Works

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