The story behind the brand
NERDY&NICE is where creativity meets curiosity
A space for designers, developers and dreamers to learn, connect and grow.
Hi, I’m Kim Johnson
Founder of NERDY&NICE – BFA in Interactive Media Design & MS in User Experience
You searched the web and landed on NERDY&NICE. Welcome to my hub, where I’m building a community of designers, gamers, anime fans, and tech enthusiasts to discuss our passions, share experiences, and pass the torch so you can learn.
NERDY&NICE began as an idea in 2018 – a play on words of “naughty and nice” from Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, and how I like to describe my personality as a blend of sweet nerd.
My journey in tech
From gamer to designer to founder
🎮 Gaming Roots
My childhood friend Frank introduced me to gaming. I watched him play simulator airplane games and Jungle Strike on his Super Nintendo. Later we played old-school Mario and NBA video games together. As I got better with the controller I started fighting matches with my favorite characters — Chun-Li from Street Fighter and Sonya and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.
💻 Discovering Web Design
During middle school I spent my days making online friends in AOL chat rooms. My best friend introduced me to Xanga.com, a popular blogging site where I discovered my passion for web design. I wanted to learn how to create my own layouts and understand how websites are built. I would search the internet in Internet Explorer and get inspired by people’s GeoCities websites. I came across a website called CreateBlog.com where I learned that people made their graphics and layouts with Paint Shop Pro. I taught myself how to use Paint Shop Pro by following tutorials from CreateBlog.
🎓 Education & Career
I followed my passion for web design and earned my BFA in Interactive Media Design from The Art Institute of Houston. I worked as a Web Designer in corporate settings gaining seven years of experience helping companies maintain their websites. As the web evolved so did the need for mobile and web applications. During my Bachelor’s degree I took a Human-Centered Design class which sparked my interest in User Experience. I decided to pursue my graduate studies at Kent State University and earned my MS in User Experience.
Credentials
The education behind the brand
🎓 BFA in Interactive Media Design
The Art Institute of Houston
Foundation in web design, digital media and interactive design principles
🎓 MS in User Experience
Kent State University
Graduate studies in UX research, usability and human centered design
💼 7 Years Industry Experience
Corporate Web Design
Helping companies maintain and grow their web presence in corporate settings
What’s next?
Ready to explore?
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