Michael Riley is the creative director of Shine, a design studio in LA. He has been directing and designing film and television main title sequences, theatrical trailers, television commercials and corporate identity packages since 1991.
He designed main titles movies such as Traitor, Signs, Mad Money and for television shows, including Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Blade: The Series, Criminal Minds, Karen Sisco, Ally McBeal, Saturday Night Live, and many more.
Riley graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, and began his career as an intern under Tibor Kalman at M&Company in New York. He then started working with Kyle Cooper at R/Greenberg Associates and moved on to become partner and creative director at Imaginary Forces.
Riley speaks passionately about his work: “Design is about people, and if there are strong, healthy, client relationships, there’s a better possibility to pull off a good project.
“I have many fond memories working at R/Greenberg Associates in New York, and of my time at Imaginary Forces in Los Angeles,” Riley says. “I could name a long list of amazing people, personally and professionally, at both companies. My first experience with a company that did title design was at an internship I had in college under Tibor Kalman at M&Co. in New York. When I first saw him use typography as a thoughtful, conceptual, and expressive element in a Talking Heads music video, I realized the possibilities of mixing design with film.”
Riley was nominated three times for an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design for ‘Standoff’, ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘Temple Grandin.’ He was awarded a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal from the D&AD, The British Design and Art Director’s Association, “Trailer of The Year” Golden Trailer Award, a Belding Award, a Silver Medal from the New York Art Director’s Club.
