Melanie Johnson graduated from college with a degree in English and spent the next few years trying to figure out what she should do with it. After dabbling in meeting planning for an Iowa-based insurance company and working as an administrative assistant for a large publishing company in Orlando, she struck out for the West and spent five years in Montana. While there, she worked as a volunteer for a fledgling literary journal featuring new and established regional writers and worked at all sorts of odd jobs so that she could continue to immerse herself in the area's rich literary heritage. Vocational high points of that time include a too-short stint as editor of a regional travel magazine (Whitefish Magazine) and an offer to write the first Frommer's Guide to Montana and Wyoming, which she eagerly accepted.

After the publication of the travel guide in 1996, she moved to Seattle and worked for Microsoft in Windows User Assistance as a technical editor and manager for 5 years. She spent most of her time there ensuring that all Help files in Windows products conformed to the same style guidelines--policing the proper use of gerunds and infinitive phrases in titles, and the tendency of some writers toward anthropomorphism.

Shortly after getting married in 2001, Melanie and her husband moved east to be closer to family. In 2005, she and her husband joined an Anglican Mission church in Davidson where she was asked to join the staff as communications director. Among other things, she maintained the church's website and began to design the occasional website for other Anglican MIssion churches. In 2008, after teaching herself graphic design, Melanie was offered a position as a product designer for an online digital scrapbooking company, Scrap Girls. She launched MJD in late 2009.

While she may not have the typical resume of a graphic designer, Melanie loves the way that each phase of her life has brought her to this point in time where her passion for stories, photography, and beautiful design has merged with her heart's desire to use her gifts and skills for God's glory. She and her family reside in North Carolina, where they are avid Anglicans and homeschoolers.