Communication Design alumna, Lauren Hodges is a Brooklyn based designer working across industries, recently signed on with Pentagram as a Junior Designer for partner, Luke Hayman. Her work is rooted in equal parts strategy and craft, where gathering insights at the beginning of a project is as integral to the design process as technical skills.
Brand Design for a new Roman style coffee bar located in NoMad. Inspired by 20th century Roman street signage, I developed a scripted logo to be the core element of the brand. As a proponent of an interdisciplinary design approach, the logo was designed to sing with the elegant curves of the marble bar, a central architectural feature by HOME Studios.
What were your favorite classes at Parsons?
Foundation: 3D with John Jerard
Design and Journalism with Juliette Cezzar
Martina Caption: Brand Design for a new Roman style pizzeria located in the East Village. The logo is based off of the Chicago typeface, a san serif font designed by Susan Kare (1984) for the first Mac operating system. Inspired by the free form energy of the East Village, I also developed frenetic illustrations that act as the matrix for collateral materials. Can you find a hidden slice of pizza or Italian slur?
What did you wish you knew as a student that you know now?
The importance of networking, collaboration and storytelling. Ask questions, talk to everyone and never stop learning.
Who do you look up to in the design community?
Louise Fili and Diana Rhoten of IDEO
In a recent collaboration with LA based Fashion Designer Kristen Gonzalez of Selva Negra, we brought to life my original series of continuous line drawn portraits for their Fall/Winter 2017 collection, which aims to set zero limits to what women can achieve. The final collection is for sale at Tictail Market and Bird.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Designing brands for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
