Richard is a practising illustrator, academic, and teacher. His work has featured on various visual identity campaigns, packaging designs and in a multitude of editorial, magazine, newspaper, and educational commissions. Clients include BBC, Marks and Spencer, Cadbury, Harrods, The Times, Liberty of London, Aardman Animation, and Scope.
Richard has also illustrated over seventy picturebooks for children, including ‘Our Tower’ written by Jospeh Coelho, the 12th Children’s Laureate (Published by Frances Lincoln, 2022). Richard’ illustrations for ‘Our Tower’ were nominated for the YOTO Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
Other titles include 'The Thing at 52' written by Ross Montgomery (Published by Frances Lincoln, 2023), 'Night Jar', ‘Birdsong’ and 'Little House' written by Katya Balen (Published by Barrington Stoke, 2023). Richard’s own wordless picturebook ‘Once Upon a Snowstorm' (Published by Faber & Faber, 2018) was shortlisted for the World Illustration Awards in 2019 and exhibited at Somerset House in London. The book has been nominated by IBBY for the 4th edition of The International Collection of Silent Books and has also shortlisted for the Bishop’s Stortford Picturebook Award. The story was adapted for stage, showing at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.
Richard’s illustration has been internationally recognised, winning the prestigious Gold and Silver Awards presented by The Association of Illustrators (U.K). Recognised by The Society of Illustrators (U.S), exhibiting at the Museum of Illustration, New York. With Merits from 3x3 The Journal of Contemporary Illustration (U.S), and shortlisted for the Prize for Illustration in partnership with The London Transport Museum (U.K). Richard’s work has also achieved the ‘Best of the Best’ winner for the Hiiibrand Illustration Award (China). His work has earned him a British Book Design Award and has been selected numerous times over the last twenty years for AOI Images 'The Best of British Illustration' and The World Illustration Awards, exhibiting in galleries and Universities internationally.
Richard is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UKPSF, and a member of the Association of Illustrators.
Richard’s research seeks the academic application of illustration research methods whilst broadening illustration as an authorial professional practice. He is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD, researching unconventional forms of wordless storytelling. This work seeks to utilise narrative illustration and sequential drawing as a tool to raise awareness and discussion around the subject of child exploitation. Working with external partners, Richard’s research seeks to apply ‘unrestrained’ models of practice to interrogate complex issues such as criminal exploitation, online grooming, county lines trafficking and debt bondage. His supervisors are Professor Paul Wells and Professor Rebecca Cain.
• Johnson, R. (2023) ‘Breaking the Frame: Unbinding the language of wordless visual narratives’, CONFIA: 10th International Conference on Illustration and Animation. Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. 6th-7th July. pp. 60-70. Available here.
• Johnson, R. (2024) ‘Utilising Unrestrained Wordless Illustration
in the Discussion of Complex Social Issues’, ICON: The 12th Illustration Conference. Prisms: The Illustration Education Symposium. Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). 10th-11th July.
• Johnson, R. (2024) ‘Wordless Illustration as a Tool in the Discussion of Child Exploitation.’ ADPRex: Arts & Design Practice Research Exchange, Precarious Art: How Do We Make Art in a World on Fire? Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts, Singapore. 1st-2nd August.
Richard is a tutor on the BA Graphic Design and MA Graphic Design & Visualisation programmes in the School of Design and Creative Arts. He is module leader for ACB142 Narrative and Sequence, and ACP207 Defining a Specialist Project.
Richard’s teaching interests are centred on the application of visual storytelling and narrative design within visual communication practices. Richard is also interested in developing entrepreneurial opportunities and interdisciplinary approaches within visual communication, specifically focussing on developing the role of illustration and the image. Richard’s expertise is in children’s picturebooks, graphic novels and comics, sequential narrative branding, animation, storyboarding, character development, film, storytelling in site-specific and game world-building contexts.
Richard currently teaches on these modules:
ACA142 Visual Thinking
ACA143 Visual Practices
ACB142 Narrative and Sequence
ACC140 Negotiated Project
ACC141 Major Project
ACP207 Defining a Specialist Project
ACP209 Final Project Practical Perspectives
• Johnson, R. (2018) ‘Free as a bird’. Migrations: The international centre for the picture book in society (ICPBS) in collaboration with BIBIANA, The International House of Art for Children [Exhibition & Publication]. Slovakia, Bratislava. ISBN13: 978-1910959800
• Johnson, R. (2018) ‘Once upon a snowstorm’. The world illustration awards [Exhibition & Online exhibition]. Somerset House, London.
• Johnson, R. (2018) ‘Once Upon a Snowstorm & Free as a bird’. 3x3 Journal of contemporary illustration international picture book show No.15 [Online exhibition & Publication]. ISBN13: 978-1-946750-08-2. Available at: https://3x3mag.com/annuals/annual15/j
• Johnson, R. (2019) ‘Night bus’. Prize for Illustration – ‘London stories’ [Exhibition]. London Transport Museum, London.
• Johnson, R. (2019) ‘Tokyo 2020 - Spirit of competition’. Illustrators 61: Society of illustrators [Exhibition]. Museum of Illustration, New York. Available at: https://www.soicompetitions.org/?what=gallery&c=156
• Johnson, R. (2019) ‘Tokyo 2020: Spirit of Competition’. Hiiibrand Illustration ‘best of the best’ [Exhibition & Online exhibition]. Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Available at: https://hiiibrand.com/winners
• Johnson, R. (2021) ‘Crossings’. The world illustration awards [Exhibition & Online exhibition]. Somerset House, London. Available at: https://theaoi.com/world-illustration-awards/
• Johnson, R. (2022) ‘Toy circle’. Society of illustrators 64 [Exhibition & Online exhibition]. Museum of Illustration, New York. Available at: https://societyillustrators.org/onlinegalleries/ill-64/
• Johnson, R. (2022) ‘Tree-grown man’. AI-AP: American illustration 41 [Online Exhibition]. Available at: https://www.ai-ap.com/slideshow/AI/41/?status=chosen
• Johnson, R. (2022) ‘Toy circle’. IAIA: International association of illustration academics. Seeking vision: 16th Design principles and practices conference [Online Exhibition]. The University of Newcastle, Australia. Available at: https://www.illustrationacademics.com/2022/
• Johnson, R. (2023) ‘Our tower - Unrestrained’. Discover children’s storytelling centre [Exhibition]. London.
• Johnson, R. (2024) ‘Targeted’. ICON12 gallery show [Exhibition]. Chambers Gallery, Downtown Minneapolis.