Bruce Johnson, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1944, began his training at the Baum School of Art. In High School he was guided and encouraged by Jim Musselman, an outstanding art teacher, who prepared him for the Philadelphia College of Art. There he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, while studying under Edna Andrade, Marvin Bileck, Will Barnett, and Boris Drucker. He then served three years as a U.S. Army Illustrator in Europe, where he received the Army Commendation Medal for outstanding design work with NATO. Following the Army, he was an art director for WITF-TV, and during his tenure there won many design and promotion awards from National Educational Television and National Association of Educational Broadcasters.