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Ethan Rogers | Thomas Miller

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Thomas Miller

Born in 1920, Thomas miller grew up in Bristol, Virginia then attended Virginia State College where he graduated in education with a focus on Art. He was not originally classically trained in art because the schooling just wasn't available to him at the time. Straight out of college he joined the military where he served until the late 40s when he was discharged. After being discharged he moved to Chicago and applied/got accepted to the Ray Vogue School of Art. He was the only black student at the institution and was one of 2 that were accepted into the society of typography. This was the big turning part of his career. At the Ray Vogue School of Art, he studied commercial and graphic art. 

Out of school Miller started looking for work and it was not coming easy, he got many offers from places, but they said he had to work from behind the scenes so people would not know they had a black designer. He decided that was unacceptable and declined every single one of the offers that had these "constraints" within them. Eventually, he got an offer from Morton Goldsholl Associates, which was a firm known for their progressive hiring. The firm owner's Millie and Morton Goldsholl studied at the New Bauhaus. He worked for Morton Goldsholls for 35 years and then moved on to making his own art (usually mosaics or monotypes). Many pieces of his art made it into museums.


Thomas Miller.JPG

Chicago murals, mosaics: DuSable Museum features Thomas Miller ...


Miller did all sorts of marketing work at the Morton Goldsholl Associates firm like working on the logo and identity for Good Design. His most notable works were rebrands for large companies like 7up and Motorolla.

Motorola by Thomas Miller | 1955 #logotheke #logo #logomark ...

African-American Designers in Chicago' is an important corrective ...


Miller also had a successful run as a personal artist creating many pieces that made their way into art museums across the country.


10 Influential Black Designers from Past to Present

both of these pieces are featured in the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago.


Miller was one of the pioneering black designers and he was the only black student at the prestigious Ray-Vogue school of Design. He proved that he belonged in the design world with countless awards in design as well as being one of the two black designers to be accepted into the Society of Typographic Art at the time. From 1950 to 1985 he had a very successful career at a very successful firm and he was highly recognized the whole time. After his retirement from the design firm, he took the world of art by storm creating numerous works of art that are still featured in museums.


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