Hi there!
I'm Zane Miller.
I’m a Nashville-based institutional designer focused on higher education brand systems, visual identity, and long-term design stewardship. My work sits at the intersection of tradition and relevance, with a simple goal: helping serious institutions communicate clearly without feeling stiff or dated.
I support mission-driven and educational institutions through brand systems, visual identity, and long-term design stewardship—always with a goal of making institutional design feel less stuffy and more alive.
I’m the Digital Design Manager at Hillsdale College, where I steward the visual systems behind the institution’s most visible work—from flagship publications and donor communications to executive events and digital platforms across campus. The work is less about one-off deliverables and more about building design that holds up over time, across audiences, and under pressure.
My role sits at the intersection of systems and judgment. I lead design for long-term institutional work, set typographic and layout standards, and build scalable design systems that work just as well in print as they do online. When timelines compress or decisions need to move fast, I’m trusted to make the call and keep the work coherent, clear, and on-brand.
Much of my practice focuses on helping serious institutions communicate with clarity in fast-moving environments—without losing their voice or leaning on visual habits that no longer serve the message. With a long-standing relationship to Hillsdale spanning student, alumni, and professional roles, I bring uncommon institutional continuity to every design decision.
I collaborate closely with writers, editors, marketers, administrators, and vendors, with a strong emphasis on production fluency, accessibility, and brand governance at scale. I’m equally comfortable refining a headline grid, directing a campaign system, or pressure-testing workflows so good design is easier to maintain—not harder.
Outside of my full-time role, I run a small independent studio working with mission-driven organizations and educational clients on projects that range from local initiatives to national campaigns.
I design systems by day and experiment with automation, AI, and better ways to get work done by night.