About
Celebrated designer, writer, activist, and educator Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller's memoir of a life in advocacy and
her journey to answer the question "Where are the Black designers?"
Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller is one of the design field's most respected figures. She is legendary for her decades
of scholarship and activism and is known as a touchstone and conscience for the design profession. This
long-awaited book documents the history of the question she has been asking for decades: "Where are
the Black designers?" along with related questions that are urgent to the design profession: Where did they
originate? Where have they been? Why haven't they been represented in design histories and canons?
Holmes-Miller traces her development as a designer and leader, beginning with her own family and its rich
multiethnic history. She narrates her experiences as a design student at Rhode Island School of Design,
Maryland Institute College of Art, and Pratt, leading up to her oft-cited Pratt thesis examining barriers to success
for Black designers. Holmes-Miller describes the work of her eponymous studio for noted clients that included
NASA, Time Inc., and the nascent Black Entertainment Television, as well as the story of her later critiques
of the industry in the design press, most notably in Print magazine. Miller also recounts the parallel history
of collective efforts by fellow scholars and advocates over the past fifty years to identify and celebrate Black
designers.
Enhanced with a foreword by Crystal Williams, president of Rhode Island School of Design, award-winning
poet, and noted advocate for equity and justice in the fields of art and education, HERE is part memoir,
part investigation, and part urgent call for justice and recognition for Black designers, making it an invaluable
resource for graphic design professionals, teachers, and students.
