The Most Famous Unknown Artist

When we think of famous Knoxvillians, our mind tends to gravitate towards people like Peyton Manning or Kenny Chesney. However, there are plenty of famous Knoxvillians that are not as prominent in the media or news, but should definitely get the recognition they deserve.  

Have you ever heard of Dennis Hwang? 

Known as the "most famous unknown artist in the world", Dennis Hwang is someone that you wouldn't know off the top of your head; however, in context you may say, "Ohhhh.... yeah....". Born in Knoxville and a Bearden High School, Hwang was that kid in school that doodled throughout class. At the time, it probably seemed problematic, but who would have know that it would become a source of income for him. 

When you first log into google, what is the first thing that you see? The google doodle of the day. Many times this google doodle reflects holidays or important/historical moments or birthdays. Hwang, in the past, has been responsible for many of those doodles. While employed by google as a webmaster, every year, he would create about 50 designs. In fact, in 2006, Hwang was the creative mind behind having an individual google design for all 32 different teams represented in the World Cup. 

Recently, Hwang has departed from Google slightly by becoming the director of visual design at Niantic Labs, which is a software development company that spun off from Google in 2010. I had never heard of Niantic Labs before, or at least I did not think I had; however, when I read about one of their most recent, successful software

developments, I knew exactly who they were. I am sure by now you have heard of Pokémon Go. Hwang, and the crew at Niantic Labs, are actually the creative masterminds behind the app sensation. Now, Hwang "considers the whole world his game board."