Maryland Institute College of Art

Abbott Miller is a designer and writer, who is a partner in the New York office of the international design firm Pentagram. Prior to Pentagram Abbott was the founding director of the multidisciplinary studio Design/Writing/Research, where he pioneered the concept of “designer as author” undertaking projects in which content and form are developed in a symbiotic relationship.

Abbott’s projects are often concerned with the cultural role of design and the public life of the written word. At Pentagram he leads a team designing books, magazines, catalogs, identities, exhibitions, and creating editorial projects. He has designed books on the work of Matthew Barney, Nam June Paik, Doris Salcadeo, Hans Haacke, Antonin Artaud, and many other artists, architects, and designers. Abbott has received numerous design honors, including medals from the Society for Publication Designers and three nominations for National Magazine Awards. In 1994 Abbott—together with Ellen Lupton—was awarded the first annual Chrysler Award for Innovation in Design.

His recent projects include the design of The Couch: Thinking in Repose at the Freud Museum in Vienna, and a comprehensive new graphic identity program for the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). He is currently working with the Art Institute of Chicago on a new identity and signage system. His design of all the exhibitions for the new Harley-Davidson Musuem will debut in June of 2008.

He is the co-author of four books, including Design/Writing/Research: Writing on Graphic Design.