Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Miller.
Hi Chris, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My earliest memories are of making things. Untold numbers of drawings and paintings. “Talking” robots cobbled together from random Styrofoam scraps and walkie-talkies. Strange little inventions and lopsided contraptions that somehow took over our house growing up.
Art school didn’t involve much sleep for me. I majored in graphic design, but also took on the same studio load as the illustration and fine art majors. I couldn’t help myself. I chose graphic design as my career path, but I’ve always kept some version of a garage studio going, whether it was crowded with paint, wood scraps, printing presses, or half-finished experiments.
I loved my years working as a creative director, but the last couple of decades have been about raising my kids, appreciating the flexibility of running my own business, and carving out more time for fine art.
In many ways, my adult life has circled back to where it started. Creating visions, figuring out how to build them, making a mess in the process, and learning something new every step of the way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been years of smooth sailing, and there have definitely been years of white-knuckling it a little. The good stretches were genuinely exciting — from the early days of web design, when simply knowing how to build a website made you a hot commodity, to later years leading teams as a creative director.
But creative work tends to feel every economic bump in the road, and over the past 30 years there have been a few potholes big enough to swallow an entire industry for a while.
Choosing sole proprietorship meant trading some financial security for flexibility, but it also gave me something I value far more: the chance to be present while my kids were growing up. School pickups, sports, dance, music lessons, family moments — I wouldn’t trade any of that back for a steadier title or a bigger office.
Now they’re launching into lives of their own, and I’m finding myself at another creative starting line. More time to make things again. More time for fine art. More room for the same curiosity that’s been driving me since the days of homemade robots and cluttered garage studios.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been a graphic designer for over 30 years. Early in my career, I dove into website design in the mid-90’s, coding my first sites in SimpleText and learning HTML on the fly. This opened up a path to creative director positions in web-focused agencies. I’ve worked in small shops and larger agencies. For the last few years, I have run my own sole proprietorship. I still do a lot of print work, along with website design and support.
These days, I keep a small roster of great clients — people who value thoughtful work and are genuinely enjoyable to collaborate with. I mostly work with small to mid-sized businesses, along with a healthy amount of pro-bono projects that keep me connected to work that matters on a different level. I’m very proud of my work for Scorpion Creek Ranch, which aims to provide homeless teens with more than a home: education, support, and a path forward.
No matter the size of the project, everything starts with brand strategy. My job is to uncover the clearest, most authentic, and most compelling way for a brand to speak to its audience — then bring that voice to life in a way that feels both intentional and human.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I would say that first, one must define what the word “Success” means to them. For me, it hasn’t been external validation. Awards and attention have never been something I chased. Doing work that I am proud of — that pushes my abilities a notch further —one day at a time: that’s what success has meant to me. That, along with creating a life that brings me joy daily, instead of grasping an arbitrary brass ring.
To answer the question, I think authenticity is really important for success. Identify the problem, do the homework, and solve the problem as best that you can. Don’t take shortcuts, and don’t solve the problem for anyone but yourself. I think as a creative, it takes years of practice to hone that quality in your work and in your life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cmiller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cmd_pdx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cmdpdx
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clmiller/
- Other: Fine art site: https://www.metaharry.com/
