As a little girl, Lauren Earl used to bribe her friends into doing her math while she used felts and drew up pretty title pages for their textbooks. “I’m really fortunate that I knew what I wanted to do from the get-go as it gave me a bit of a head start,” she said.
Originally from Wellington, Earl works full time in graphic design for a leading New Zealand high street retailer. Having always been a creative person, she stayed in the Windy City to study at Massey College of Creative Arts. It wasn’t all work, though, with Earl spending every university break in Orange County, California with her fiancé and friends.
“I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without an education. Not only did I develop a key skill set but I was able to tap into an entirely new way of creative thinking. All of the late nights with minimal sleep definitely paid off!
“I feel fortunate to have landed my dream job and I freelance as well which is awesome.”
Her job means she gets to do a bit of everything, and no day is really the same. Her tasks usually range from branding and designing packaging of all kinds, conceptualising ideas, styling and shooting looks in the studio, liaising with modelling agencies, planning and executing campaigns and designing the collateral for the stores. She also gets to travel a lot with work and said she loves having a career which allows her to visit different locations around the country and the world.
“I’ve jet-setted to LA, Sydney and New York this year alone!”
Organisation is key for her work.
“My day has to be totally organised so I can get through my workload but also really flexible so I can suddenly squeeze in a last-minute shoot or design meeting. To-do lists are essential.
“Being completely open minded and viewing every concept with fresh eyes is crucial! It’s important to constantly think of new ways of conveying our message and connecting with customers.”
Her job has taught her to plan, but be open to change and organised but flexible at the same time.
“I’ve learnt that a nine til five job doesn’t exist in our industry – when you’re busy you’re busy! You work when you have to no matter what the time!"
“Writing my book when I was at university taught me a lot of valuable lessons – it was a pretty crazy thing to set out to do but it taught me so much about business and how to manage myself and my career.”
She attributes success at such a young age to a positive attitude and not taking herself too seriously.
“If you can have a positive mind-set you’ve conquered one of the biggest hurdles in life already!"
“Being surrounded by people who stimulate, support, inspire and encourage you and being a hard worker - My parents always stressed the importance of working hard and leading by example to get what you want in life.”
She said you have to work for it; whether it’s success in your career, at sport or in some other goal.
“I’m quite driven so I want to make sure that my career continues to grow and develop and I will always continue to seek out new challenges!”
Earl is currently working on her second book so getting that published is a short-term goal she’s currently focused on. When she’s not getting through the mayhem and madness of a typical day, Earl also makes time to fit in grit, yoga, tennis and catch ups with friends.
