Micah Player

A former Creative Director of Paul Frank Industries and the co-founder and former Creative Director of Lately Lily, Micah Player began his illustration career designing characters, graphics and style guides for the apparel industry. He then went on to write and illustrate the picture books Chloe, Instead and the Lately Lily series (Chronicle Books). He is the creator of the best-selling “Around the World Puzzle” and it’s follow-up, the “Around the World Matching Game” (also from Chronicle). His commercial work has appeared in Anthropologie, Selfridges, MOMA, The Land of Nod, Target, World Market, Papyrus, Tea Collection, Pottery Barn Kids and many other awesome places.

Micah was born in Alaska, as the seventh of nine kids in a family of drifters. Some of his earliest memories are of the rolling interstate from Oklahoma to California, eyes gazing out the window of the family van, pencil firmly in hand. The far-off places and continuing daydreams that filled his sketchbook were a sort of home base in a life on the move.

Micah is fascinated by the intersection of story, product design, illustration and branding, the ability of great creative work to give ideas a sense of place and tangibility. His work is informed by a deep love and appreciation of the holistic approach to design pioneered in the mid 20^th century and the smart, whimsical picture books produced in the 50s and 60s. Micah’s style marries sharp, deliberate shapes of vibrant, saturated color with translucent ink washes and linear, expressive brushwork.

He now lives in a little house beneath a giant tree in the mountains of Utah with a lovely schoolteacher named Stephanie. They are the parents of two rad kids, one brash little Yorkshire Terrier and several Casio keyboards.