About — Rafe Johnson

Rafe Johnson on a misty mountainside

Hey, I'm Rafe — a designer and technical artist. I grew up in Scotland, shaped as much by the worlds of sci-fi as by the nature on my doorstep, and I've always used what I make to explore the future — and what it means for art and characters to feel alive.

These days I'm in San Francisco. I've worked on the Virgin Galactic spaceship cabin, augmented reality, and experimental embodied AI projects like Wisp, which led me to working on friendly AI guides at Tolan.

Outside of work, I'm usually up a mountain, gaming, painting, or behind a camera.

  1. 2019

    University of Dundee

    Master's — Product Design

    Scotland

  2. 2020

    Freelance

    3D Artist

    Scotland

  3. 2021–22

    Seymour Powell

    3D Designer

    Scotland

  4. 2022–24

    Liquid City

    Technical Artist

    London

  5. 2024–25

    Freelance

    Technical Artist

    Scotland

  6. 2025—

    Tolan

    Technical Artist & Designer

    San Francisco

Wired Tolan 2025
The Verge WOL AI 2023
Adobe Virgin Galactic design 2021
TechCrunch Virgin Galactic design 2021
Business Insider Virgin Galactic design 2021
Transform Magazine The future of AR 2021