Lauren Ayers is a graphic designer based in Chicago.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. My name is Lauren Ayers, I’m a Chicago based designer and I work for VSA Partners, Tenspeed Hero, and fun.

What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? In the last two years I’ve designed a couple collections of cycling apparel for Tenspeed Hero, focusing primarily on expressive pattern and color relationships. My work with TSH is ongoing, and right now I’m impatiently awaiting the launch of our first ever Resort collection later this year. I also just joined a new partnership to brand an arts incubator space that will open in Humboldt Park in the next few months.

What are your thoughts about the design scene in Chicago? Chicago is a wonderfully huge city and yet the design scene here is tight enough that I’ve never had to be an island if I didn’t want to be. For example, earlier this year I was invited to collaborate on the spring issue of a quarterly publication called MAS Context. Not only was the content for that piece really interesting, it was great to meet and engage with other Chicago designers I really respect and look up to. 

What materials do you use in your work and what is your process like? The Internet, Adobe Creative Suite, Micron pens, Lycra. I work every day, and it’s a lot of list-making, researching, thinking, sketching, and rethinking. I’d like to say that as I’ve grown I’ve gotten better about when to call a piece “done,” but in reality I will forever fiddle. 

What is your ideal studio situation/workspace? Cafés, grocery stores, lobbies. I like a clean table and a lot of commotion.

If you hadn’t become a designer what do you think you’d be doing? Science.

Can you share one of the best or worst reactions you have gotten as a result of your work? Honestly, I get shot down pretty regularly. My graveyard of ideas is vast — it’s just part of working for clients. I did have a boss once who regularly told me to, “design it more” after reviewing my work. I always got a kick out of that because what he meant was, “add more crap on there.”  

What are you listening to right now? Ladies, mostly. FKA Twigs, Kelela, Joni Mitchell.