Brian Miller on Design That Doesn’t Show Off—and the Subtle Power of Invisible Kindness
How empathy, quiet details, and a bitterly cold design pilgrimage reveal what great hospitality is really made of.
I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last decade working alongside—and being introduced to—some of the sharpest minds in travel. People who challenge how I think about this industry. No fluff, no gimmicks, and absolutely no recycled takes. When they speak, I listen. And now, I want you to be able to tap into their brains too.
Next up: Brian Miller. I’ll actually be hosting a live Substack video chat with Brian tomorrow at 5PM EST to further dig into his unique philosophy on invisible kindness.
To join, just head to the Business of Experiences homepage on Substack a few minutes before—we’ll be going live right from there. Can’t make it? The replay will be available after.
Brian is the co-founder and lead designer at Streetsense, a twenty-five person team of architects and interior designers who specialize in shaping social spaces. If you’ve spent time in DC, you’ve likely moved through his work—grabbing mezze at Little Sesame, sipping cocktails at Jane Jane, or walking the corridors of The Apollo. His team’s portfolio spans everything from neighborhood bars to grand-scale apartment lobbies to Michelin-starred restaurants like The Dabney and Tail Up Goat.
What makes Brian’s approach stand out isn’t just aesthetics—it’s empathy. He’s a quiet observer of human behavior, designing not to impress, but to anticipate. His philosophy of “invisible kindness” is the kind of design that thinks two steps ahead—shaping how you move, feel, and settle into a space without ever demanding attention. The full breakdown of his philosophy is worth reading—but once you hear how he thinks about the smallest details, you’ll start spotting invisible kindness—or the lack of it—everywhere.
It’s that same lens he brought to a bitterly cold trip through Chicago, Racine, and Milwaukee earlier this year—his first time exploring Wisconsin. He toured Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic SC Johnson headquarters, wandered the halls of the Pabst Mansion, and ended the day with an old fashioned at a lakeside supper club. What began as a design pilgrimage unfolded into something more layered and local—a quiet reminder of how places, and the people who shape them, build meaning over time.
A few highlights from our chat:
Why a mid-career survey of Passamaquoddy basket weaver Jeremy Frey at the Art Institute of Chicago stopped him in his tracks.
What a Wisconsin supper club can teach modern brands about longevity and local culture.
His go-to recommendation for visitors to DC—and the overlooked garden that deserves a detour.
How “invisible kindness” shows up in everything from cabinet pulls to bar design.
Why he’s chasing early 20th century Gothic Modernism in Vienna this fall—and still raving about Seville.
