Get to know Lauren Grey, our co-founder and head of Graphic Design here at Outset

Lauren boasts over 30 years of experience in the field of graphic design and has worked her way up from a Junior Graphic Designer to a Creative Director. If anyone has a comprehensive view on the industry, where it’s going, and what trends exist - it’s her!

Patricia: Let’s start easy! In three words, describe your working style.

Lauren: Dependable, succinct, organized.

Patricia: What sparked your interest in graphic design - how does someone in your position get started?

Lauren: When I was a kid, I drew all the time. My parents also ran their own business so I had to keep myself occupied and at the time, crayons and paper were a kid’s dream. Design is everywhere from movie posters, advertisements, anything you can get your hands on. Everything you touch is designed by somebody and I think there’s something very special about that. 

The moment that convinced me that I could pursue this as a career was a professor in college. He saw my work in a drawing class and basically asked if I was interested in pursuing a career in graphic design. I had no idea what that meant at the time and the field wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today. I went in not knowing what I was going to do or focus on and came out with a graphic design degree as a result.

Patricia: Since graphic design moves so fast, how would you say your style or approach to designing has changed? 

Lauren: I used to focus on what was trendy but now I focus a lot on longevity. Most importantly, I continue to evolve as technology evolves. My career should be, and is, growing concurrently with technology. That means there is a nonstop learning process involved with being a graphic designer. So you could say, the tools change all the time but the values in which I create have only evolved.

Patricia: Technology is often viewed as such a driving force - for good or bad. But, it really does shake up the graphic design industry in so many ways.

Lauren: Absolutely. I don’t consider it all bad either - it’s like with any other tool. Remember when everyone was hesitant about using touch screen phones or even Photoshop? Now look at where we are.

Patricia: That’s so interesting. So, how do you think AI or emerging technologies will shape the future of graphic design?

Lauren: Most people are more interested in using AI than not using AI, mostly because it’s a buzzword, which was a great cue to me to learn about it. But, a lot of people also find the adoption and use of it to be quite challenging. I see it as any other program I’ve used in my career. It’s a tool to improve your ability to do things more efficiently, more creatively, and you have the ability to potentially do some things faster that you aren’t very good at. 

I do use AI to refine text or writing because sometimes it can help solve grammar or tense issues and things that might be easy to miss. I use it for website wire framing or building pages based on templates and the like for the purposes of streamlining the workflow. As someone in my role, I have enough experience and have done my own research to make it work for me rather than doing the work instead of me.

Patricia: Speaking of challenges, are there specific challenges from your previous roles that prepared you for your work here at Outset?

Lauren: Very early in my career, somebody reached out looking for work and I had just started freelancing. I was lucky because I was very busy. I focused so much on current work that I left new or prospective clients waiting for me. I was late to reach back out to them and they practically screamed at me for not understanding the importance or cadence of timely communication. It was very educational.

Losing out on a client was hard and I felt like I had disappointed them, but that made me realize that attentiveness and getting back to people, is as important as the work you’re doing. I had to shift my way of thinking to a true business mindset. I couldn’t just focus solely on design.

Patricia: It’s always hard not to take those things personally, especially when you’re a one-person team and it’s your first foray into something like that.

Lauren: Sure, it’s a hard lesson to learn but a good one nonetheless. Business didn’t always come easy to me, but I’m grateful for that period because it taught me how to get better.

Patricia: As a graphic designer, how do you “get better”?

Lauren: I make it my business to stay on top of trends and challenges in the industry. Quite simply, I look and listen, I consume a lot of information, I love research, I love learning. I’m the person that signs up for all the email lists for design news, technology news. I’m a marketer’s dream!

Patricia: [Laughs] If only marketing ROI were that easy!

Lauren: Hey, for me, it really is.

Patricia: If only work were also that easy! How do you handle creative blocks or moments when inspiration runs low?

Lauren: It actually doesn’t happen to me that often but when it does, I let go and don’t worry about what’s coming out. As silly as it is, I just stop thinking and let the ideas just flow - good and bad. I don’t worry about edits or if it makes sense. Sure, I’ll have to start over on occasion but I find that getting the bad ideas out and onto paper or a screen allows me to move past it.

Patricia: It makes total sense, it’s like doing a mind dump.

Lauren: Exactly.

Patricia: Aside from that, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in this field?

Lauren: I really enjoy mentoring people all the time and I tell people to always be learning. Graphic design as an industry is not static, it constantly changes and evolves. Every year new things are coming out, and new things become old news very quickly. You have to pay attention or risk becoming outdated. 

Always push yourself to be better and your work will never be stale. It sounds cheesy  but by default even running that race, you’ll already be ahead.

Patricia: And since we’ll also have potential clients and the like reading this, what is the one question clients always seem to want answered?

Lauren: How much is this gonna cost me?