Profile: Jeff Miller

Like a lot of sign people, my roots are in graphic design. I went to the Art Institute of Seattle for commercial graphic design and graduated in 1989. A position was available in a sign shop, and it just sort of evolved from there. I worked in a half dozen sign shops in Seattle and had a shop of my own there before moving here to Astoria ten years ago.

Graphic design, of course, is primarily done with the computer now, but signs allow you to design and build things as well. Along with the opportunity to design, you can paint, dig post holes, use cranes, engineer things, fabricate all sorts of stuff. I like to work with wood and build things, so it has always seemed like a good fit. You get to start with a concept then build it, and that’s fun.