Kelli Miller is the co-founder of creative studio And/Or, and has worked in motion design and branding for 15 years with brands like MTV, Netflix and Amazon. She is a graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art and has taught and lectured at the College for Creative Studies, Pratt, NYU, SVA, Yale and RISD.

Kelli has directed show titles for FX, HBO and Paramount’s Lip Sync Battle, and designed title sequences for films and documentaries including The Assistant, Certain Women and critically acclaimed drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always.

We spoke with Kelli for our Backstory series, where we chat with folks in the entertainment industry about their creative inspirations and more.

Kelli, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I was born in Illinois, in the suburbs of Chicago, but grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, so I consider Detroit my “home.” Where I live now is a bit complicated—due to Covid-19, I am living in the northern Catskills in upstate New York but plan on moving back to Brooklyn, where I have lived for the past 14 years, once things are a little more stable around the virus.

Your first job in the industry.

My first full-time job out of undergrad was working at the publications department of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, which is where I graduated from with a BFA in graphic design. I was the art director and sole designer of the department. It was a great job and a great learning experience.

A breakthrough moment in your career.

When I was working at Trollbäck+Company, I directed and designed the opening titles for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. It is one of my proudest moments and favorite projects. It showed me that my voice and appetite for bringing together clever humor and smart design had a place in the commercial world and ultimately encouraged me to start And/Or.