30. Abbott Miller (Originally aired 5/31/17)

30. Abbott Miller (Originally aired 5/31/17)

From Scratching the Surface by Jarrett Fuller

June 10, 2026 · 59 min

About this episode

In this episode, Jarrett Fuller interviews designer Abbott Miller about his work at Pentagram and the integration of critical theory into design.

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. First up is our 2017 conversation with Pentagram partner Abbott Miller! We'll be back with new episodes in September! — Abbott Miller is a designer, writer, and a partner at Pentagram where he leads a team designing identities, exhibitions, and books. Before Pentagram, Abbott ran a studio, Design Writing Research, with Ellen Lupton and wrote for publications like Eye, Print, and I.D. A monograph of his design and writing, called Design and Content, was published in 2014. In this conversation, Abbott and I talk about where his interest in critical theory came from and how he’s worked to incorporate it into his design work, using writing to find new ways into design, and how his various interests have come together in his current work designing exhibitions at Pentagram. Links from this episode can be found at: https://scratchingthesurface.fm/post/161266191870/30-abbott-miller — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

People in this episode

Host: Jarrett Fuller

Guest: Abbott Miller

Topics covered

  • design
  • critical theory
  • exhibitions
  • identity design
  • writing

Keywords

  • Abbott Miller
  • Pentagram
  • design
  • critical theory
  • exhibitions
  • writing
  • Design and Content

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pentagram

Books & works: Design and Content

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