Lauren Witney - girl power

Lauren Witney is a talented designer based in New York City. She shares her creative story below.

equilibreyaum: Tell me about your background, when did you first start designing?

Lauren Witney: I started designing during my sophomore year at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I took my first Photoshop class and fell in love with it. The class taught me how to use a drawing tablet, create patterns, manipulate color and apply designs to products. This inspired me to take more classes in design.

e: What was the first thing you designed?

LW: The first mass produced product I designed was an oversize stemless wine glass with “relax” written on it with eyelashes. The glass is actually large enough to fit an entire bottle of wine!

e: What did you do with the first thing you designed? Do you still have it? Did you give it away as a gift?

LW: I kept the factory sample and use it as a pencil cup at work. Since design is so personal, it’s easy to get shy about an idea or think you don’t have what it takes, but seeing it reminds me that I really can do this.

e: What’s your design process? How do you make your designs come to life?

LW: The process begins with the buyers sending us the trends they are looking to buy next season. We design based on those specific trends. Then, we do market research by going to stores, looking online to see bestsellers and researching popular motifs and quotes. Designer fashion and fragrance packaging provide great color stories to work from. Then, we begin designing the products and seeing what works. We also take into account the capabilities of our factories and time frames to ensure the designs are feasible.

e: When did you first create your Society6 account? What inspired you to do that?

LW: My first job after graduating didn’t require much creativity, so I felt like I was lacking a creative outlet. Designing products seemed perfect because it was related to my field and I could potentially profit from it. I created the account in December 2017 and started by just uploading art and photography projects from college.

e: You have almost 450 items for purchase on Society6, do you plan on expanding your store even more?

LW: Yes! I plan on adding even more art and photography over the next month or so.

e: Many of your designs contain images/elements of nature, why is that?

LW: Nature is a subject that everyone can relate to so it’s very salable. Most of the items I design are for inside the home, so it’s nice to bring the outdoors in sometimes.

e: What do you enjoy designing the most? Least? Why?

LW: I enjoy designing products for topics I am interested in. For example, I recently assisted in designing a girl power collection. This was really exciting because I was passionate about the message and impact of our products. The products I enjoy designing the least are those that require just a simple word or motif. They are nice products, but are uninteresting to work on from a design perspective since they are so simple.

e: What’s the best compliment you’ve received about your designs? Worst critique?

LW: The best compliment I received was from a designer at the company I work for. I am in the product development department and had just started designing items for my customer, Hobby Lobby. She saw some of my designs and thought the senior lead designer did them. This gave me a huge confidence boost to continue designing. The worst critique I received was that an entire 40 piece collection I designed was boring and uninspired. This hit me a little hard since it was one of the first projects I worked on.

“I enjoy designing products for topics I am interested in. For example, I recently assisted in designing a girl power collection. This was really exciting because I was passionate about the message and impact of our products. The products I enjoy designing the least are those that require just a simple word or motif. They are nice products, but are uninteresting to work on from a design perspective since they are so simple.”

e: Some of your designs were picked up by Hobby Lobby! How did that feel?

LW: It feels incredibly rewarding to see my designs come to life! When I walk through the showroom at work and see my items on display, it feels amazing to know I created products that people want in their homes.

e: Are there other stores that you would to see your designs in?

LW: Yes! I would love to see my designs in more mass retailers like Target, HomeGoods and Macy’s.

e: Are there any future plans for your designs you'd like to share?

LW: I plan on working with more typography in future designs. Typography is a really interesting design category that can really take products to the next level.

e: I hope to find your designs in stores soon!

LW: Yes, you can find my designs at Hobby Lobby in early 2019!

To purchase Lauren’s designs, please visit her Society6 page.