As a self starter and local design professional, John Knoerl manages his personal silk screen design business while working locally at Team Detroit. John has lent his screen printed poster designs to a variety of local organizations, including AIGA Detroit.
John Knoerl
GRAPHIC DESIGNER / PRINTMAKER
Website: www.nerlsaysdesign.com
Twitter: @johnknoerlsays
Email: john@nerlsaysdesign.com
Can you give us a brief background of yourself?
Your history? Your accomplishments?
I have lived in Michigan my entire life. I grew up in the Plymouth/Canton area and currently live in Plymouth. I have always been a creative person. My whole family is interested in art, so I’ve been around creativity my entire life. When I was in college, I decided I wanted to have a career that allowed me to be creative, so I got my Bachelors degree in advertising from Grand Valley State University.
It was in college where I discovered the gig-poster scene. I have always been a huge fan of music, and when I saw all the great posters being created for shows, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I did more research and that’s when I discovered screen printing. The idea of using your hands to create an awesome piece of art was really cool to me. I have been fortunate enough to do posters for a lot of great music artists since I started, and I look forward to working with many more in the future.
Could you show us a sampling of your work? Click on the image to see it larger

You can see more of John’s work at his website: http://nerlsaysdesign.com/
What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration is looking at other people’s design. Seeing something that is beautifully created and executed makes me strive to become a better designer. Music is also another huge inspiration since a lot of my work is gig-posters.
Do you consider graphic design a growing industry?
I definitely think graphic design is a growing industry. There are so many different platforms that need graphic design that weren’t there even 10 years ago– mobile, websites, apps, and so much more. I think it will just keep expanding, and there will always be a need for design. Even letterpress and screen printing are making a strong comeback. So, both old and new techniques are contributing to the growth of graphic design.
How has living in Michigan shaped your work and who is your favorite Michigan-based designer or artist?
Living in Michigan has been a great benefit to me. A lot of bands make a stop in Detroit on their tours, and since the majority of my work is gig-posters, it gives me the chance to do work for a lot of different bands. Locally, I have a lot of respect for one of the early rock posters artists–Mark Arminski. I also really enjoy the work of local poster artists like the Silent Giants, and Shawn K. Knight.
What is your favorite part of being an AIGA member?
I like how easy it is to connect with other designers and to see what they’re working on. There are also a lot of great events that promote creativity and learning in the local design community.
What does your workspace look like?
I have two areas– one where I do my designing, and one where I do my printing.

What are a few of your favorite books?
Anything to do with design and screen-printing. I love looking at other great design work.
What is an example of one of your favorite projects from the past year?
A couple of posters I’m really proud of are my Andrew Bird (Ann Arbor, MI) poster and my Fleet Foxes (Ann Arbor, MI) poster. Click on the image to see it larger

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