About Miho

I am a graphic artist and multidisciplinary designer, specializing in communication design, graphic design, illustration, and visualizing information and data. I practice human-centered design and systems thinking to guide design decisions.

In addition to working as an independent graphic communication consultant, I am a design collaborator at Play Orbit Studio. I have been design lead at the University of Michigan School of Public Health's Innovation Studio, program manager at the University of Michigan School of Information's UX design clinic, graphic designer at the Garden Conservancy, and co-founder of VRiD with fellow Parsons School of Design graduate Von Robinson.

During my free time, I enjoys cozy and introverted activities such as gardening (especially growing food), drawing and writing stories, and going to the library.

My designs:
My upbringing in both the US and Japan influences my design decisions always. My pleasure projects in particular are informed by my childhood memories of Japan, especially whimsical and downright weird product designs and the shokunin mentality, or the deep dedication to craft. I appreciate the quietude ‘shibui’ can illicit and the light-heartedness whimsy can illicit. I mix the two when I get the chance. 

My career…
has been quite varied and I’ve experienced many different avenues and approaches to design. I’ve come to believe that any good design, no matter the medium, is about communication, whole human being to whole human being, and is founded in empathy for humans/humanity and living systems.

Thoughts on design thinking and other creative problem solving methods:
Design thinking and the like can bring order, rigor, empathy for stakeholders, and other important things to projects, but that process alone is not what leads to good design. Design thinking is not the entire creative process. I read somewhere that “design thinking is a tool, and just as in any tool, it is only as good as the person wielding it.” Absolutely! When designers can know and exercise their whole, sensorial, cultivated, unique selves, they can imbue soul into their work.