“I started by watching tutorials on Youtube,” Miller said. “I found them entertaining when I was in middle school.”
Interested in graphic design from a young age, Miller took to Photoshop as an activity in his free time. He credits most of his learning to Youtube, but he has also taken graphic design classes offered at both the middle and high school level.
“I wasn’t the teacher’s pet, but [teachers] would always have me do extra stuff,” said Miller.
Miller would often finish his Media Arts projects early. Mrs. Kushner, his teacher, would then give him extra projects such as promotional posters for plays and sporting events.
Similar side projects would be presented to the young graphic designer throughout high school as he took Mr. Brian Miller’s Graphic Communication classes.
“Wayne is a a very self-motivated student. He has incredible skills with the software, especially Photoshop,” said Mr. Miller
On top of the extra work he’d put in for teachers, Miller also combined his love for basketball with his newfound hobby of playing in Photoshop.
“I wanted to make sports edits because I was a huge D-Rose fan,” said Miller. “[And] I’d post them on Facebook.”

The origin of WMG

It wasn’t until the start of high school that WayneMGraphics was born in Mr. Miller’s Graphic Design II class.
“Wayne was what we call an “Independent Study” student,” said Mr. Miller.
“If there are kids that have taken Graphics before, or have showed me skills that are above and beyond what a Graphics II student would [have], they create and develop their own projects with my suggestions and guidance.”
After hearing from a few Graphics II students, Independent Studies projects range from creating logos, business cards, photo-manipulations, or whatever interests the student. But no student has taken an Independent Studies project as far as Wayne has.
“He decided that he was going to do a company ID, or a branding type of project,” said Mr. Miller. “That’s where you create a company, real or made up, and create a logo, mission statement and other materials a company would use. Apparel (shirts, pants, hats, etc), memo pads, letterheads, business cards, website design, and anything else a company would need.”

The next step

As people recognized Miller’s talents, a window of opportunities began to open. With friends joining the local rap scene, Miller was asked to follow suit with his graphics.
“I started making album covers. It wasn’t until high school [that] I really started getting paid for it. I started promoting myself on Instagram, and people would reach out to me and ask for pricing,” said Miller.
“He’s all over social media promoting himself,” added Mr. Miller. “He’s doing a fantastic job and really not spending very much money while growing his brand at the same time.”
However, starting up a business is no easy feat.
“It’s very inconsistent,” Miller admitted. “I can make $300 in a week, or I can make nothing. It depends.”
As for where his talents fall within the world of graphic design, it’s safe to say that Miller knows exactly what he’s doing when he’s on the job.
“Being so young and having started very early, I feel like I’m ahead of a lot of people. I do see a bunch of other graphic designers on Instagram, and most of them are 20-25, and I’m already better than half of them. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I’ve been doing this for a while, and I know Photoshop like the back of my hand,” said Miller.
Mr. Miller would agree that Wayne’s talent is undeniable.
“He is way above someone his age,” said Mr. Miller. “He’s taught a lot of skills to himself, [and] his skill set is much higher than the average high school student; he’s not even on the same level.”

The big break

Miller is certainly not being haughty when he talks of the level at which he works. His talents have been recognized in the graphic design community, and even among popular rappers.
Young Famous, reposted the cover onto his Instagram. Durk’s 2.9 million Instagram followers certainly created quite a buzz around WayneMGraphics that day.
“That’s the biggest milestone of my career,” said Miller.
Miller has also worked with S.Dot and Edai, along with most of Team600, which Young Famous is a part of.
“I plan on having a photoshoot with them sometime this spring, but it’ll be with the entire group,” said Miller.

Pricing

As for pricing, a WayneMGraphic’s album, which includes the front cover and tracklist, costs $50. A single cover is $35, fliers are $35, T-shirt designs, depending on the complexity, range from $25-30, and business cards are TBD.
“I had zero intentions of making clothing,” Miller said. “But I made a T-shirt in Graphics one day with my logo on it, and then I posted a picture on Instagram with it on. Now, everybody wants [merchandise], so I just stuck with it.”
If you’re interested in getting something from WayneMGraphics, check out his website at Waynemgraphics.com. Miller often holds Flashstores, which allows him to balance the supply and demand for his merchandise.
“I don’t spend any money out of my pocket,” Miller explained. “People can buy their stuff [online], and when the store closes, I use all the money to fulfill the orders.”
As for merchandise pricings, T-shirts are $10, long sleeves are $15, crewnecks are $20, and hoodies are $25.

WayneMWednesdays

You can often see students wearing WayneMGraphics merch –especially on WayneM Wednesdays!
“I did one last year,” said Miller. “On the last Wednesday of school, everybody who own[ed] WayneM merchandise wore it all on the same day.”
Keep an eye out for the next WayneM Wednesday on April 12. You’ll probably be seeing staff participating as well –even Principal Dr. Jon Guillaume!
“It’s really awesome that the culture and the school atmosphere itself is overall really positive and supportive of [him],” said Mr. Miller.

The Process

However, Miller’s core business is not a clothing brand, but a graphics design company, and he looks at every job individually. When it comes to creating albums, Miller considers both his client’s desires, and his vision for each design.
“Usually, I have them send me the song so that I can get a feel for what it’s about. I listen to the song, and I try to incorporate [ideas] from the song into the covers. Sometimes [clients] have specific things that they want on the covers, so I try to incorporate that as well,” Miller explained.
However, he has had his fair share of difficult clients.
“They can also send pictures, but I hate when people send me low-quality pictures. They’ll send me a selfie. Like, c’mon now,” Miller joked, “I can’t do anything with that.”
Most of Miller’s business discussions are held over Instagram direct messages. This informal way of communicating makes it easy for him to be very honest when he is given a difficult image to work with.
“Nowadays, it’s all through social media. You can make so many connections; most of my clients aren’t even in Illinois. They just find me on Instagram. That’s how I [promote] most of my stuff, through Instagram and Twitter,” said Miller.
The entrepreneur has had a very successful time networking on his social media platforms.

Sacrifices

Although WayneMGraphics has had a very successful past few years, starting up a business is a true test of one’s tenacity.
“For the past three years, I was on the basketball team. I quit this year –not necessarily because of graphics, though. I needed a job to support my business, and if I was playing basketball, I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” said Miller.
Even though Wayne may not be participating in basketball anymore, he knows that his time is being put to better use at WayneMGraphics.
“I love basketball, and I always will,” said Miller. “But I wasn’t going to college for basketball, and I needed to focus on more important stuff, like my business.”

The future for WMG

Miller hopes to continue growing his business, ideally, to the point where he can hire others to be his graphic designers.
“I don’t want to do graphic design in college because I am already running a business without a degree,” said Miller. “Even with a degree in graphic design, I would need many years of professional experience for companies to even consider hiring me.”
Miller looks at his college major with the bigger picture in mind.
“I’d rather learn how to run my own business, so I can still do my graphic design how I want to and continue to expand on my clothing and merchandise,” said Miller
This entrepreneur would still like to take graphic design courses in college, but he sees college as an opportunity to expand his knowledge in a field he is not as familiar with.
“I can run my own business. I can be my own boss,” said Miller.
Miller hopes to evolve his company so that rather than spending days at Ultimate Screen Printing in Mundelein, he can be sitting behind a desk, calling the shots at his own graphic design firm.
“That’s the ultimate goal right there,” said Miller.
Starting up a business at this age seems incredibly daunting, but if you ask Miller, every possible drawback is completely worth it.
“If you have a passion for something, stick with it. Just do what you love, and the money will follow,” said Miller.
Interested in following Wayne and his business? Find WayneMGraphics on Facebook at WayneMGraphics, Instagram at WxMxG and waynemgraphics, Snapchat at waynemgraphics, and Twitter at WxMxG. Learn more on WMG at www.waynemgraphics.com.

Gallery • 5 Photos

A flyer Miller made for a middle school production

**All images courtesy of Miller