Michael Johnson (graphic designer)


Michael Johnson is a British designer and brand consultant. In 1992 he founded the design studio Johnson Banks in London, UK. Johnson received the Design and Art Direction black pencil award for his fruit and veg stamp designs and the organisation's President's award in 2017. Johnson has published three books and the Victoria and Albert Museum have nineteen of his designs in their permanent collection.

Career

After graduating Michael worked as a designer and consultant for Wolff Olins, Sedley Place, and Dentsu, Tokyo.
In 1992 he set up Johnson Banks and went on to advise and create brands for clients including Virgin Atlantic, Science Museum, Shelter, The Guggenheim Foundation, Sendai Space Observatory and Pew Center for Arts and Culture. Johnson has designed posters and stamps such as The Beatles for Royal Mail in 2006.
In addition Johnson writes for many design journals, judges design competitions and lectures worldwide as far afield as Toronto, Tokyo, Berlin and Goa on branding, identity issues and design history.
He has won some design industry awards. Specifically, eight D&AD 'pencils', and he presided over the organisation in 2003. Johnson has nineteen designs in the V&A's permanent collection. D&AD named his as the seventh most awarded designer in its history in its fifty-year celebrations in 2012. The second edition of his first book Problem Solved was published in autumn 2012.
Johnson designed 1993's Fruit and Vegetable stamps and The Beatles album cover stamps.

Awards and recognition

D&AD Awards

Art Directors Club of New York Awards

Four Art Directors Club of New York 'cubes' and six distinctive merits:
  • Gold: Beatles Stamps
  • Gold: The Watch Gallery
  • Silver: Fruit & Veg stamps
  • Bronze: Glenfiddich Barrel Art

Other Awards

  • 1 best of category from American ID magazine
  • Design Week Hot 50, listed 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011
  • Shortlisted, BBC Design awards 1996

Exhibitions

As author

  • Johnson, Michael.Problem Solved: a primer in design and communication. First edition. London, UK: Phaidon Press.
  • Johnson, Michael.Problem Solved: a primer in design and communication. Second edition. London, UK: Phaidon Press.
  • Johnson, Michael.Branding: In Five and a Half Steps. First edition. London, UK: Thames & Hudson.

As contributor

  • Myerson, Jeremy et al..Rewind: 40 years of design and advertising. London, UK: Phaidon Press.
  • Heller, Steven. The Education of a Typographer. New York, USA: Allworth Press..

Solo monographs

  • Johnson Banks; Fletcher, Alan. Johnson Banks . France: Pyramyd editions.