Ceci Johnson

Founder & Creative Director, Ceci New York

A recognized force in the design world Ceci Johnson is an influential and highly regarded entrepreneur, artist, editor, speaker, loving wife and mother. Her career has been dedicated to the pursuit of beautiful living through design. Ceci’s powerhouse design agency, Ceci New York, is globally regarded as the leader in luxury invitation design. Ceci herself has been widely recognized as the founder of “Couture Invitation Design”. Her fashion-forward style and sophisticated aesthetic have lead her to be named by Tory Burch as a “Woman to Watch” and called by Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine “a favorite designer”. We TV named Ceci Johnson as their networks Invitation Innovator and Expert.

Ceci was born and raised in Southern California as the daughter of a small business owner. Many of the valuable business lessons Ceci practices in her own company were learned while growing up and listening to her father conduct business. Ceci is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Art & Design department. While still in school she was featured on the cover of Communication Arts Magazine and named one of the top ten artists in the nation– a rare honor let alone for a student! Post graduation Ceci moved from San Diego to New York City for a role as creative director with a leading design agency.

It was in NYC with an invitation she created for a coworker’s wedding, that the Ceci New York story began.

One referral lead to another, and another… In 2004, armed with a fierce desire to disrupt an industry that did not offer true “couture” invitation design, Ceci established her eponymous New York agency. Her New York studio has won numerous awards including the prestigious ModernBride “Trendsetter” award, named “Expert Stationer” by New York Magazine and won successive “Best of invitation design” awards leading to her induction into The Knots Wedding Hall of Fame. Soon after her reach spread to a global clientele and soon expanded beyond the world of weddings into Social & Parties, Corporate, Baby & Kids, Stationery and Home & Gifts.

Ceci has designed for international luxury brands, celebrities, rock stars, artists, royalty, dignitaries, presidents and titans of industry. Her corporate client list includes “The Emmy’s”, Perrier Jouet, Patek Philippe, Mandarin Oriental, The Four Seasons and Hugo Boss to name just a few.

Ceci Johnson is a highly sought-after speaker on branding, design and entrepreneurship for women in business. She has spoken to designers, wedding industry professionals and numerous companies around the world from Goldman Saks to Adobe Software and luxury symposiums from Moscow to Paris. She is passionate about mentoring and consulting with other entrepreneurs as the first step in changing the path they’re on and transforming their strategy, branding and design for the better.

After years of focusing on her own business and brand, Ceci has been able to use her unique skills and the creative power of Ceci New York to give back to causes close to her heart. At the center of Ceci New York’s philanthropic efforts is their partnership with The Birthday Party Project, a non-profit dedicated to bringing joy to homeless children through the magic of birthdays.