JDG's Johnson Celebrates 25 years in Business & the Hiring of a Daughter

By Nicholas F. Benton

Tuesday was a milestone for Falls Church’s Len Johnson. Not only did it mark the 25th anniversary of his award-winning marketing communication and design firm, but it was his daughter Kristen’s first day of full-time employment as a designer for the company.

At a 25th anniversary reception celebration at Johnson’s JDG Communications offices on Lee Highway, a third cause for celebration was also announced. The company was named recipient of three 2004 Silver Inkwell Awards from the International Association of Business Communicators’ Washington chapter. The awards were all for aspects of the JDG’s “Do Not Call Registry” campaign for the Federal Trade Commission. The awards were presented in a ceremony at the National Press Club last week.

Johnson and two associates bought the company they were working for 25 years ago to launch their own design business. Now, it has a dozen employees and has been in new offices at 7389 Lee Highway for two years. Previous to that, it was at offices on Little Falls in the City of Falls Church. Founded in 1979, its name has changed twice. Originally Brooke Todd and Associates, it became the Johnson Design Group after less than a year, and was re-branded JDG Communications in 2001 as it expanded the scope of its services beyond marketing design to full-service communications.

Kristen Johnson, the second of Johnson’s two children, recently graduated college and when she went to work for one of Johnson’s competitors, he decided something should be done. But it wasn’t a cakewalk, he said. He reviewed over 100 resume for the job before determining she was the most qualified.

JDG is currently ranked seventh on the Washington Business Journal’s list of Largest Graphic Design Companies. It has received a variety of awards for its work. In addition to the Federal Trade Commission, its clients include OMNIPLEX World Services, L.F. Jennings and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge Centennial. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Newspaper Association of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. General Services Administration are also among those on a long list of current and former clients.

Johnson graduated from the University of Illinois and was a military photographer with the U.S. Army in Okinawa. Among his assignments was Bob Hope’s Pacific Tour.