Michael H. Riley

Michael Harold Riley (born November 1, 1968 in Palo Alto) is an American motion graphics designer, art director and the founder of design company Shine. Has directed the television title sequence for Turn: Washington's Spies, the film title sequence for Kung Fu Panda, film sequences for How To Train Your Dragon, and worked on the redesign of the animated MGM theatrical logo. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award six times including for the main title design on Temple Grandin.

Early life and education

Riley grew up in Palo Alto, California. As a teenager, he ran a T-shirt silkscreen business called No-wear with a friend. In 1991, Riley earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design. He had a design internship at M&Co. under Tibor Kalman.

Career

In 1991, Riley joined R/GA in New York City. In 1996, he became a partner at design company Imaginary Forces in Hollywood.

Riley created the title design for Gattaca with Andrew Niccol. In 1998, the film won the D&AD Black Pencil Award for main title design. Riley was nominated for an Emmy Award, Outstanding Main Title Design, for Band Of Brothers in 2002.

In 2005, Riley founded design company Shine in his garage and serves as creative director.

He received an Emmy nomination as creative director for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2007 for Standoff, 2009 for Taking Chance, 2010 for Temple Grandin, in 2011 for Too Big to Fail, and in 2013 for The Newsroom.

Riley is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Television Academy. He was an adjunct faculty member at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Partial filmography

• Saturday Night Live (1995)
• Gattaca (1997)
• Band of Brothers (2001)
• Kung Fu Panda (2008)
• Modern Family (2009)
• Taking Chance (2009)
• How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
• Temple Grandin (2010)
• Raising Hope (2010)
• Too Big to Fail (2011)
• Footloose (2011)
• The Newsroom (2012)
• Pitch Perfect (2012)
• Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
• The Millers (2013)
• The Goldbergs (2013)

• "Industry Pro: Creative Director Michael Riley". Your Industry Insider. April 23, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2016. 
• "Lecture: Michael Riley of Shine Studio". Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Retrieved 2016-01-19. 
• Debra Kaufman (June 19, 2008). "Intense Collaboration on Kung Fu Panda's End Credits". Studio Daily. Retrieved January 18, 2016. 
• Julie Prendeville Roux. "Shine". Communication Arts Magazine.