Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Scott.
Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got into design when my high school English teacher approached me to join the yearbook staff that she had just recently taken leadership over. I joined and within a few weeks, she made me an editor. With no background in photography or graphic design, I began curating photoshoots, showing up to basketball games to get “action shots”, ideating a thematic direction for the book, selecting typefaces, Pantone colors and paper types. I was thrown, very quickly, into all the things I now do on a daily basis. It ended up being such a cornerstone experience of my young adult life.
I studied both Creative Advertising and Business at Southern Methodist University. I have always been entrepreneurial. Since I was a little girl, I was dreaming up business concepts and pitching them to my dad. He always encouraged me to pursue a business degree, regardless of what else I wanted to study, knowing that one day I would work for myself. It was Cox School of Business that really sold me on SMU.
During college, I was very involved at my church, Shoreline City. The pastors had just planted the church in 2012 and are both incredibly creative. I slowly began taking on design projects for the church – helping name sermons and events, creating artwork, launching social channels and even (without being asked) giving it a new brand identity.
Like so many creative ad students, I had my sites set on New York City after graduation. But I was so passionate about the work I was doing at the church, that I just couldn’t say goodbye to Dallas. I was one of their first hires and it was such a fun first job – it was essentially working at a start-up. I remember having to transform a kids classroom into my office during the first week. It was such an immersive experience with a lot of freedom and trust. I got to art direct photoshoots, hang out in print shops, ideate the production of services, design beautiful brochures and work with some of my favorite people.
After working there for about two years, I knew I needed agency experience. I transitioned to Brand Partner at SLANT Partners – a design-focused marketing firm. During my three years there, I learned so much about client service, business operations and project management and got to work with some amazing creatives and Dallas-centered brands and beyond.
I had my first child in 2019. Around then, I decided it was time for what my dad would call the “inevitable” – to start my own business. Looking back, it was a bit audacious to start a business as a brand new mom but I felt like it would initially allow me to spend the early years with my son and continue to utilize my gift, advance my career and slowly build the business I had always dreamt of.
It’s truly my passion to work alongside business leaders and help them articulate the vision they have in their hearts (hence the name Coeur, which means ‘heart’ in French) for their brands and help bring it to life through words and design. There is nothing quite like that moment when business leaders look at their branding and get a sparkle in their eye because “I got them”. Today our studio serves all sorts of brands – from commercial real estate firms to consumer goods brands and from tech start-ups to non-profits and churches.
Coeur Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a brand consultancy and design studio. We are like therapists for your brand. We help you articulate (with both word and design) who you are, who your clients are, what their motivators are and what differentiates you. Then we bring that to life through logos and brand identities, photography, social media content, website design and development and marketing collateral.
I truly believe that strategic messaging and beautiful design can tell a story, deepen engagement, earn trust and communicate with clarity – all coming together to help businesses and organizations grow.
We are people-first. Our clients and our partners are our friends and we serve them with enthusiasm, grace, warmth and kindness. Something else that sets us apart is our depth of experience paired with our passion. We are experienced – we deliver an excellent product and give our clients a professional experience. All the while, we are still bright-eyed, obsessed with our work and approach our projects with fresh eyes and originality.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Man, it’s still so new for me. I will not act like I have this figured out, because I don’t. Right now, I am really focused on finding the rhythm of being a new mom (I am expecting another baby now) and leading a new business.
I am finding the “balance” of giving myself days where I can just play with my son and not have a schedule and days where I can switch modes completely and book every second of my day – running from a photo shoot, to a call, to a press check, to a design-block for a new brand identity.
Trying to determine how to grow slow. My vision is to do great work, create great relationships with clients and creative partners, and then truly “launch” Coeur in three years. Think: office space, a larger team, more clients. Right now, my focus is building a collective of creatives that can work together to serve my clients well. There are so many creative “freelancers” out there and linking together with them has been so fun, so encouraging and has allowed me to serve my clients even better than I could have imagined.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am an enneagram four so I have lots of memories. My favorite memories are probably the simplest memories – long, hot summers spent in the pool all day day, drawing sidewalk chalk cities on the driveway, playing with neighbors until dark, eating popsicles and making up dances to Britney’s first album.
Pricing:
- Our pricing is determined per project or relationship. However, our most popular service is brand identity packages begin around $2,500.
Contact Info:
- Website: coeur.studio
- Phone: 303.815.6807
- Email: lauren@coeur.studio
Image Credit:
Victoria Vidana
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