
Louis Johnson
senior designer
Location: Ithaca, New York
irondesign.com
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Interview
2005
How did you become a designer/artist?
I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Utah.
What are you doing now?
I work at Iron Design in Ithaca, New York. It’s a beautiful, upstate New York city in the Finger Lakes region. I live in Spencer, New York, a small town 20 miles south of Ithaca. There my companion of 12 years and I own a home we are making improvements to. We are also very active in our community and enjoy participating in many functions to make our little town a better place to live. When I’m not working or doing community stuff, I enjoy nature, travel, reading, film, and spending time with friends.
Where areyou from originally?
I was born in Murry, Utah, the youngest in my family. I grew up in Orangeville, UT – another small town. After college I lived and worked as a Graphic Designer in Salt Lake City. I moved to Spencer, NY so my companion could be closer to his family. I’ve also lived/worked in Hawaii, Alaska, and the Philippines.
What are your plans for the future?
To work less and enjoy nature and home more.
What American artist inspires you most?
Inspiration. I like the work of Chip Kidd, Luba Lukova (NOT an American), Paula Scher, among others.
What unlocks your creativity?
A lot of different things: seeing the way other people solve design problems (good and bad solutions), seeing the way nature creates beauty, etc. Probably the time I solve many of the worlds design problems though, is early in the morning when I can’t get back to
sleep. I guess you could say I find answers in the dark.