Brian Johnson

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Brian Johnson, a member of the Monacan Indian Nation, is a designer, curator, partner at Polymode studio, and a founder of the online learning platform BIPOC Design History. Deeply invested in the production of good design without the expense of sacrificing our humanity or environment, he extends these values to his clients and curatorial work. He is the curator of Designed To Be Red: Native American & Indigenous Poster Works, an NEA-supported exhibition and publication opening September 2026 at Poster House in New York, with national touring support from the American Federation for the Arts. The exhibition spans nearly two centuries and represents over forty tribes and nations. A 2025 Mellon Fellow at the IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts, Johnson was also awarded the 2023-2024 Hyperallergic Emily Hall Tremaine Journalism Fellowship for Curators, where he focused on Native-made works to combat erasure and decolonize design. His clients include The New York Times Magazine, MIT Press, A24, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

Community affiliation: Indigenous from within the United States

Languages: English

Roles and Services: 2SLGBTQIA+ content reviewer, Author / Writer, Columnist / Contributor, Consultant, Developmental editor, Editor, Managing editor, Peer reviewer, Production manager (print), Researcher, Sensitivity reader

Cultural roles and services: Diversity / Decolonization consultant, Indigenous content reviewer, Indigenous cultural educator , Indigenous literatures scholar

Other fields of interest / expertise: Art, Design, Design; Accessible publishing, Design; Digital publications, Design; Graphic design, Design; E-book / EPUB, Design; Print publications, Design; Typesetting, Design; Typography, Design; Web design, Education, Marketing, Marketing; Social media, Marketing; Web / Digital marketing

 

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