Designing What Lasts
By the time Jan Miller talks about design, you realize he isn’t just describing a career, in fact, he’s describing a lineage, a mindset, and a way of seeing the world.
Highly acclaimed, award winning 21-13 Impact Graphics was founded in 2005, but its roots stretch much further back. Jan grew up in the print industry, watching his father run Royal Paper Box for decades. Ink, paper stock, finishes, and production weren’t abstract ideas to him, but they were dinner-table conversations. Long before design became digital-first, Jan understood something many overlook today: what looks good on a screen doesn’t always translate to print, and knowing the difference matters.
At the time, Jan was working for a DVD production company during the height of the Blu-ray versus HD era. His role began in video editing and programming, but clients kept asking for more, like: DVD covers, movie posters, print materials. Jan was the only one in-house who truly understood print, so he naturally stepped into that space. Eventually, he wasn’t editing videos at all. He was building visual identities.
Then came the moment every entrepreneur recognizes in hindsight: the writing on the wall. The company was slipping financially, invoices weren’t being collected, and Jan knew what was coming. On the day he resigned, he was asked not to tell clients he was leaving. He honored that request but it didn’t matter. The clients already knew who they trusted.
Within a week, vendors were calling him directly. They followed him not because of a contract, but because of his work. Three major companies came with him immediately, and 21-13 Impact Graphics officially began and built not on marketing hype, but on relationships and results.
Like many businesses, Jan’s was tested in 2008. The economic crash hit the independent film market hard. Studios pulled back, Blockbuster stopped buying smaller films, and Jan watched his business drop by nearly half. Instead of panicking, he pivoted. He leaned into branding, logos, marketing, and corporate work, while continuing to serve entertainment clients as the industry shifted from DVDs to streaming.
Today, more than 40% of 21-13 Impact Graphics still lives in entertainment, now creating artwork and platform-ready assets for Hulu, Amazon, and other streaming services. But the company has evolved into something broader: graphics, print, promotional products, websites, and above all visual problem-solving. Next January marks its 21st year in business, a milestone built on adaptability.
A Changing Industry, A Constant Discipline
To Jan, graphic designers are a lot like doctors: if you don’t keep learning, you fall behind. Software changes constantly. Tools evolve. What once took hours can now take minutes, if you know how to use the tools properly.
When Canva entered the scene, it sent shockwaves through the industry. Jan doesn’t dismiss it, he contextualizes it. Canva is fine for personal projects or quick social content, but businesses often don’t realize what they give up by relying on it. Ownership, print integrity, scalability are some of the things professionals see immediately and DIY tools often ignore.
Then came AI.
Like every technological leap before it, AI arrived with fear attached, fear of replacement, fear of irrelevance. Jan doesn’t see it that way. He sees AI the same way he sees Photoshop or Illustrator: as a tool. Powerful, yes, but incomplete without professional direction.
AI can generate images, but it produces flat files. It doesn’t understand embroidery requirements, layered assets, or production realities. Professionals do. Jan uses AI in pieces like assembling, refining, directing and never treating it as “one and done.” The result isn’t automation; it’s amplification.
For designers today, his advice is simple and grounded: learn the basics, understand AI, know Canva well enough to fix what clients bring you but build your future on real skills.
Riding Economic Waves
The design industry, Jan says, has always been cyclical. Busy seasons. Slow seasons. Political shifts. Market changes. What matters is fluidity.
When client work slows, Jan works on his own company updating the website, refining messaging, preparing for what’s next. He believes designers shouldn’t rely on a single niche. Entertainment alone wasn’t enough during strikes and downturns, so he expanded into marketing and corporate work. The work is always out there but it doesn’t come to you. You go get it.
Networking, for Jan, is non-negotiable. Online, in-person, professional groups, social circles, all of it matters. He teaches a “rule of three”: one closed networking group, one open group, and one social network. Anything more, risks burnout. But what really separates success from frustration is follow-up. Relationships don’t convert themselves. Businesses don’t grow passively.
Solo, Not Alone
Jan has seen partnerships succeed and implode. His philosophy is cautious realism. Partnerships can work, but they require legal clarity, difficult conversations, and contingency planning. Solo business ownership is hard, but it gives clarity. Decisions move faster. Vision stays focused.
What truly builds an award-winning organization, in Jan’s view, isn’t perfection, it’s consistency. Loving the work. Listening deeply to clients. Picking battles wisely. Understanding that sometimes being paid matters more than being right.
He listens not just to what clients say, but to what they reveal without realizing it. Hidden in those conversations are the clues that shape great brands.
Creativity Meets Craft
Jan knows his limits and that’s part of his strength. He hires experts. Bookkeepers. Developers. Specialists. He doesn’t try to do everything himself, even though he could. Building a business means trusting others to do what they do best.
Creatives work long hours. Late nights are normal. But creativity alone doesn’t build a business whereas, structure does. Meetings matter. Networking is work. Follow-up is work. Showing up with intention is work.
A New Chapter: The Glass Leash
Jan’s newest venture, The Glass Leash, blends technology, emotion, and artistry. What began as portraits of his own dog turned into a new business transforming everyday pet photos into striking glass-mounted artwork.
Using a mix of AI refinement and hands-on design, each image is carefully reconstructed: backgrounds cleaned, details restored, eyes brought to life. Printed on glass, the final piece doesn’t need a frame, it’s vibrant, modern, and deeply personal. Though focused on pets, Jan also takes on memorial portraits, understanding the emotional weight these images can carry.
It’s not just photography. It’s storytelling, frozen in light and glass.
Jan’s Message
“Research. Take notes. Learn from the companies doing it well. Network; online and in person. If you think putting up a website is enough, good luck. You have to reach out. You have to talk to people. That’s how businesses are built.”
After more than two decades in design, Jan Miller hasn’t just kept up, he’s stayed relevant by staying curious. And in an industry defined by change, that may be the most timeless design principle of all.
