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Adrienne Johnson – Visual Designer

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There are few corners of our website or social media that Adrienne has not touched. As one of Knack’s two Visual Designers, she’s played an instrumental role in crafting Knack’s visual identity online.

Here’s how she got here.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised beachside in the sunny town of Vero Beach, Florida.

Where did you go to college and what did you get your degree in?  

University of Florida—Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the College of the Arts and Bachelor of Science in Advertising from the College of Journalism and Communications. I was the first person in the history of the school to complete this dual degree combination!

What was your favorite class in college?

Typography, hands down. We took Typography 1: Letterform and Typography 2: Composition as part of the design curriculum. We learned and applied design and typographic principles such as visual hierarchy, sequencing, legibility, alignment, and color to create work that communicates successfully.

How did you end up working with Knack?

Samyr had seen some of my illustration work on social media and asked if I was interested in doing some design and illustration for Knack. Then, I brought on Anna for Content, and Janet. The rest is history!

What’s one skill you use often that you weren’t necessarily taught in school? 

Remote project management and collaboration are essential to what I do. I used to work remotely full-time, and my work with Knack is all remote. We used web-based tools to write product strategies together and review design work in school, but it is something we figured out and that I use on a much higher level now every single day. 

What’s something you wish you had learned in college but didn’t?

I wish I’d learned even more about user experience design. This was still a newer discipline at the time and, in retrospect, the intersection of the classes I enjoyed the most comprise parts of this career — classes in advertising such as user research and strategy, and classes in design such as visual systems and web design.

Do you have any advice for current college students? 

Think about the career you want and how you’ll use your classes after school. I was focused on the historical and theoretical principles and on learning all of the software, and less about what within these disciplines I really liked and how I’d use these concepts and skills every day. Do internships and dive into getting experience! This will help you figure out if what you’re studying is really a good fit for you.