We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Griffin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Many milestone projects have felt validating, challenging, and incredibly meaningful over the years, but designing the box for PBR’s 10th Anniversary of their Art Can Competition certainly stands out in my mind. Not only was my work tangibly on shelves across the country with my name and artwork front and center, but it also marked a significant shift in my role as a designer working with Pabst over the years. Five years prior to this project, I came onto the team at Pabst as a part-time assistant to my now-close friend Ethan Silva at one of their smaller, offshoot brands, Small Town Brewery. I was taking the bus for an hour and a half to get to the center of West Los Angeles, where I’d work on point-of-sale posters, advertising graphics, and the occasional illustrative job I managed to finagle. I was probably the lowest man on the proverbial totem pole, but I was happy for a steady paycheck, and I worked diligently in the hopes that I could move up in the company. When Ethan left, I assumed his duties and eventually pivoted from part-time employee to independent contractor, which meant the end of long bus rides and a little more agency in choosing my projects. I hopped from team to team, helping out with many of Pabst’s brands, such as Rainier. Natty Boh, and even Jack Daniels, and I eventually wound up climbing to the top of the ladder: Pabst Blue Ribbon. When the PBR team reached out about designing the Art Can box, it felt like a culmination of all the work I’d put in thus far; my design would be on shelves in gas stations and grocery stores everywhere I went, with artwork I was proud to call my own. Pabst remains one of my favorite clients to this day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Lauren Griffin, aka Typogriff (a portmanteau of my last name and one of my great loves- type). I’m an independent graphic designer, with a focus on branding and illustration. I have developed a distinctive, yet versatile design style over the years, which has translated to a wide range of projects, from beverage packaging to full brand development for restaurants and bars.

My creative process is a mixture of analog sketching on paper and finalizing digitally in Illustrator. People are often surprised when they find out I don’t sketch on a tablet and that my vectorizing process is done almost exclusively on my laptop trackpad. I find that this process bridges the gap between the hand-drawn touch and the precision of the vector medium.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, it’s the moment that a client first sees my work and is thrilled. A huge part of my role as a graphic designer is to bring another person’s vision to life, as well as make work that is authentic to myself and my style. When I hit that sweet spot, experiencing the excitement from clients at having a fully realized version of their concept brought to life is so fulfilling.

A close second is seeing my work out in the world, whether on a beer can or a simple t-shirt.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think society can best serve the creative community by viewing it as such: community, not competition. There are so many artists and perspectives out there to admire, and celebrating each other is so important. It’s easy, especially when starting out, to get caught up in comparison to other creatives for being “better”, having cool clients, etc. etc., which can ultimately lead to imposter syndrome. The greatest antidote, I’ve found, is simply sharing work that you love, connecting with other like-minded creatives, and sharing the knowledge that got you to where you are. There’s room at the top for everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.typogriff.com
• Instagram: @typogriff