Magazine goddess.
Instinctive decision maker.
Herbal healer.
A diverse design background in book design, product development, branding and packaging gives Lauren the know-how and the knack for creative problem-solving. At Zehno, she turns outside higher ed to culture — everything from movies and music to fashion and product packaging — to find inspiration for translating a school’s brand story. Her approach to design gives in-house teams practical tools to run with without being overwhelmed by time and budget consumed.
Before joining Zehno, Lauren spent four years as an art director for Martha Stewart’s magazines, where she collaborated with everyone involved in the creation of stories, from editors and photographers to food stylists and pet trainers. Her craftiness extended to the markets of New York City, where she sold handmade cards as well as clothing and bags made from recycled oilcloth and vintage linens. In Boston, she joined an art collective that curated art, photography, installations and performances for a gallery on Commonwealth Ave.
She loves digging deep to figure out the intangible qualities that make up a school’s identity, taking schools where they want to be and seeing it all come together. When Swarthmore College partnered with Zehno, Lauren conceptualized and produced a magazine that a one-person design team, operating on a limited art budget and under time constraints, could maintain skillfully. Swarthmore College Bulletin has since won top awards from CASE, Educational Advertising Awards and CUPRAP.
Her work also has garnered awards from AIGA Austin, the Austin Advertising Federation, the Society of Publication Designers, HOW Magazine and Step Inside Design. She’s been featured in Design Secrets: Packaging, Moving Type: Designing for Type and Space and HOW Magazine.
A former pre-med major, Lauren’s interest in wellness flourished when she worked with Martha Stewart health expert and holistic medicine guru Dr. Weil. Now she tends a vegetable, fruit and herb garden year-round (her basil is more than five feet tall and tastes amazing). Her next goal: building a community bread oven, where she can share the fruits of her labor with her neighbors and family of five.
Education
B.F.A., design, University of Texas at Austin
Studied fashion, textiles and photography at Massachusetts College of Art and New England School of Photography