Jonas Johansson (b. 1987) is a designer, artist, educator and speaker from Glommen, Halland. He studied graphic design in Norrköping, Reims, and Stockholm, and has worked at leading design studios in Tokyo, Montreal, London and Munich. He taught visual communication at Beckmans (2017–2025), and facilitated learning journeys at Hyper Island (2014–2022).
Jonas runs the artist residency Visualia, plans courses at Svenska Tecknare, and shares his studio with SMASH and Rose Hallgren. He is a part of PLX, a Svartljus artist and is currently organising Dome Dreaming and Ode Joy.
Transcend
An interactive Pepper's Ghost installation inspired by the Sistine Chapel, where two virtual hands meet in mid-air.
Transcend was built for Urban Burn Stockholm in 2017, in collaboration with Hybrid Forest (later Smash Studio) and Rose Hallgren. Two acrylic glass pyramids, one inverted on top of the other, sat inside a wooden cage adorned with colours, patterns, and vines. We wanted an Indiana Jones feeling, like discovering a hidden ancient machine.
Visitors placed their hands into one of two boxes, each housing a Leap Motion sensor that turned their hand into a virtual one. The hand was displayed on a hidden monitor and reflected through the acrylic using the Pepper's Ghost technique, making it appear to hover inside the pyramid. The virtual hands were covered in Aztec and Mayan-inspired patterns. Inspired by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, when two visitors' index fingers touched, light streaks and particle effects appeared alongside an audio cue. People loved just moving their hand around, watching it float in thin air, and then pulling friends over to complete the gesture together. It was my first time working with Pepper's Ghost and hand sensing, and the Leap Motion turned out to be a great choice.