This Kansas City- and MU-trained artist embraces black culture in graphic design | KCUR 89.3
As a young, up-and-coming black graphic designer, Kearra Johnson wants to bring more culture to her industry.
The 23-year-old started learning graphic design in his second year at the Paseo Academy of Design and Performing Arts. She had studied other forms of visual art, but graphic design just clicked on her.
“It made sense, because I’ve always had a love for games, computers, technology, and art all at the same time,” Johnson said. “The possibilities it contains are so vast.”
It intrigued her so much that she started staying after school to improve her design skills. Eventually, she went to the University of Missouri to study graphic design, using it as a way to connect with people and share her art.
Johnson began working on one of his passion projects at MU: a card game featuring iconic black people who had an impact on American history. Flip through the cards and you’ll see the familiar faces of Maya Angelou, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Michelle Obama and many more.
The Revolution card game escalated into a full-fledged product launch when she graduated. Johnson began selling the cards online and at stores like Made in KC and The Black Pantry. Then came the attention of Fast Company, CNN and NPR. His sales exploded.
Johnson hopes the maps will give black people representation in everyday places.
“It shows (people) black individuals on these maps,” Johnson said, “and shows them that they were powerful individuals and made things happen.”
As with the Revolution Card Deck, Johnson wants all of his creative endeavors to balance culture and identity and alter existing perceptions. She says her designs should start conversations and break down barriers.
“I would like to keep creating things that haven’t been seen and things that challenge culture, challenge acceptance of our culture,” Johnson said.
Johnson faced some discrimination in her field as a black woman, but she says she mostly felt welcome. In difficult times, she reassures herself by being proud of her identity.
“At the end of the day, if you do your best and then own your identity, I feel like you can only do good,” Johnson said.
Johnson is already creating new designs and products to help her and others take ownership of their identities. It is reorganizing its product range and took out a cup which says “Dope, Black and Favoured”.
Johnson recently moved to Denver to work with a production company called Fresh Face Media. She is on a mission to add to the creative scene in Mile High City. She says it has nothing to do with Kansas City.
“Kansas City is smaller, but it has a more abundant, black-fair creative scene,” Johnson said. “So I’m definitely trying to tap into what’s here and help elevate that.”
To follow Johnson and her work, keep an eye out for her websiteTikTok (@bystudiolo) and Instagram (@studiol.o).