The ‘History of Lettering’ A level doesn’t seem to be offered by exam boards these days, but when Harland Miller took the course in the 1980s it changed his life. It was when studying for these exams that he encountered medieval manuscripts and fell hard for the highly decorative letters and chapter headings. Substituting the ornateness of the monks’ craftsmanship for the simplicity and clarity of post-war graphic design, Miller embarked on the Letter Painting series, which helped make his name and to which he has returned repeatedly for decades. They are an important part of this exhibition at the Design Museum, which has been jointly curated by Miller and the museum’s director Tim Marlow (10 December–25 January 2026). Also on display are large-scale paintings from a series inspired by the enormous billboards Miller drove past every day when he lived in Los Angeles. Paintings from both series are accompanied by works on paper that bring out the design principles undergirding Miller’s art.
Find out more from the Design Museum’s website.
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