Leadership
Dave Miller graduated with a BFA of Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1985. Since then, he has worked on both coasts and held a number of unusual creative occupations. After a short stint designing powerboat interiors, Miller moved to southern California and worked as a Jr. Automotive Designer. By day, he shaped cars for Subaru and General Motors, by night he doodled cartoons.
By the late 80’s Miller’s "doodles" had been published by several local Santa Monica papers. Miller decided it was time to make a change. "Leaving automotive design for cartooning made sense to me, it involved a lot more sitting and less sanding of fenders and bumpers."
Miller moved into the world of Saturday morning animation, where he quickly became an assistant director for the TV shows Mr. Bogus and Widget. It was during this transition period Miller met his wife, Sandy.
In his off hours, Miller continued honing his cartooning skills and in 1991 was offered a syndication contract with Tribune Media Services.
Miller’s syndicated feature debuted in September of 1992. It was called DAVE. "Go figure." says Miller," I wanted to call it Bubba. I guess I was too late, we already had one moving into the White House."
"The DAVE strip was about relationships, work and other frightening aspects of life. It was a classic 90’s 20something strip." says the creator.
DAVE appeared in over 150 papers and continued for 8 years. Syndication clients included the Chicago Tribune, the Dallas Morning News and the San Francisco Examiner. "Those were some fun years, I even got to have breakfast with Charles Schultz, but by the end of my contract, I was burnt, I had said everything I needed to say. I felt it was time for something new, besides, I wasn’t twenty something anymore, my life had moved on. When I started the strip I was that DAVE guy, but by the time I ended the strip. I was married with three kids, 1, 5, and 14. You do the math. Don’t ask."
Towards the end of his syndication contract, Miller was asked to speak about creativity to a group of toy designers from Hasbro. A few months later, he took a job with the toy company as a Senior Designer.
"Working at Hasbro was a blast. Toys everywhere, my kids loved it. It was great to be involved in product design again. I was part of the purple team, a Barney designer. Miller’s team developed several "purple" toys and even a Barney web project. But the fun at Hasbro ended nearly a year later with cutbacks and a layoff. Miller considered his options, packed up his family and moved to Prague, Oklahoma.
Soon after moving across half the country Miller landed a job as an Art Director of Connect OK at the Daily Oklahoman. But after a couple of years working for other people, Miller was ready to get out on his own again. He began planning and preparing for his own business start up. January 1st 2001, the Millers incorporated with Back40 Design, Inc.
Why Back40? "A man’s back forty used to be his living, it was something that was his, something he and his family could depend on. The name spoke volumes about what we were hoping to do with this business. We have been very blessed."