Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle DeSean Johnson.
Hi Kyle DeSean, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I graduated from California State University Fullerton in 2000 with the intent to work as an Advertising Art Director at agencies such as TBWA/Chiat/Day, Deutsch, and Grey. Instead, the dot-com crash steered me into a small design firm called Runyon, led by Richard Runyon, who designed the original trademarks for Federal Express, Spruce Goose, Berry Crocker, and Hansen’s Beverages.
I stayed there for a year before turning my attention to an Orange County-based hair care company which later became Schwarzkopf & Henkel. The rest is a great twenty years of experience designing for some of the biggest hair and skin care brands in the world.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
For the most part, every company that I worked at offered a place to call home but I strived for quick growth. I was young, had a chip on my shoulder, and sought to prove myself, so I went from one brand to the next. I knew that working as a team was important and despite my best effort to quell my inner energy, my fellow designers would tell me that I put out an aura of being better than everyone else. I laugh at it now because it’s true. Not that I was a better designer. It was more of an excitement to show what I was capable of. That was over ten years ago. Since then I’ve put that competitive energy into my own design studio called Bullet Art Direction & Design.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I lead a branding and design studio that produces big ideas. Combining care and craft across multiple disciplines, I offer a design aesthetic that is bold, dynamic, and distinctively colorful. Seriously though, I make the products in your shower look good.
It’s always an interesting reaction when I tell people that I design beauty products. Then I floor them when I mention that I also teach Zumba.
As an African-American, I am proud to represent graphic design, especially in the beauty space. With twenty-plus years of experience, it shows that I bring a unique perspective to the table.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I can do nothing alone. For every line that I have designed, there was a super-talented marketing team pushing me to create my best. I have immense gratitude for them personally and professionally.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bullet-ad.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyledeseanjohnson/
