Brian
Johnson
about.
I help hyper growth startups design solution that increase user love and sales performance.
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” - Seneca
Who you'll work with.
Creative and strategic. Academically, I come from a BS in Accounting and Finance. Professionally, I’ve helped grow sales teams, build revenue engines, and partner with companies of all sizes. Personally, I’ve found my greatest fulfillment in designing, creating, traveling, and taking meaningful risks.
Today, I’m someone who dug deep, left everything familiar, and moved full-time to Asia to study UX/UI design and develop myself both personally and professionally. I committed to becoming a designer with a “by any means necessary” mindset—and in doing so, I learned to embrace challenges, uncertainty, and growth.
I bring that same drive into every team I join. There’s no challenge I can’t help a growing team navigate, and no mountain too steep to design a path through. I don’t see limits or barriers—only problems waiting for creative solutions. Goals get met. Vision becomes reality. And the path forward is always thoughtfully, intentionally designed.
Notion - shaped my design spirit.
Before entering the world of UX/UI design, I spent eight years in B2B SaaS sales, working with companies like Autodesk, Bonusly, Bravely, and most recently, Notion. My time at Notion was especially transformative. I had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented creators, visionary founders, and passionate builders I’ve ever met. Together, we refined sales processes, listened deeply to customer needs, translated insights back to product, and launched features that helped us grow and compete.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that this environment was shaping something bigger in me—a growing fascination with how thoughtful design drives great products.
Founding a brand - helped me remember.
But the real spark started even earlier. During the global pandemic, at a moment when life felt uncertain and stripped down to essentials, I started an e-commerce cycling brand called Carbon Cycling Co. It was my younger sister who encouraged me to reconnect with what I naturally gravitated toward as a child—before “what I have to do” overshadowed “what I love to do.” For me, that was art. Creating had always been my escape.
By the end of that first year, I had taught myself the Adobe Suite, designed my first collection and tech pack, sourced a manufacturer, and launched the brand. Over the next three years, I grew that idea into a five-figure business with customers around the world. Along the way, I became fluent in Adobe Illustrator, built digital storefronts, created social content, learned photography, and discovered the power of design tools—anything I needed to tell the story myself.
I fell in love with the process of creating—designing, experimenting, storytelling, and bringing useful product ideas to life.
So by the time I arrived at Notion, the shift in me was already unfolding. I found myself noticing design everywhere: the curve of a chair, the clarity of signage, the intuitiveness of an interface, the way architecture guides movement. The more I paid attention, the more I realized these were signals pointing me toward a new path.
That curiosity eventually turned into conviction, and that conviction led me to study UX/UI design and fully transition into a profession where I could merge my product intuition, research mindset, love of storytelling, and deep appreciation for design into meaningful, user-centered work.
