by Lauren McDermott
Where We Helped
BRAND IDENTITY - website - ILLUSTRATION - DIGITALWorking with Lauren is always a pleasure, probably one of the most sweetest, kind, and genuine souls I have met.
Our paths crossed whilst I was freelancing for a design agency, Lauren’s projects were assigned to me by my then boss, and I am so glad they were. Back then Lauren was about to get married and I helped with ideas for her wedding stationery, she was also planning her very first Insta-meet. I created signage and event stationery for the day which was held at Lemore Manor.
Fast forward a couple of years, on the cusp of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Lauren approached me to see if I would work with her on developing the Hunters & Heels brand and creating a new website. We met in a cafe and discussed all of her ideas and I was instantly on-board a little overwhelmed with the scope of the project, but nonetheless excited for the challenge.
Then Covid hit, amongst every other emotion I was feeling about the current situation, I was so upset as I thought I had lost this opportunity to work with Lauren on this exciting project (as at that point most of my clients had pressed pause on their projects or pulled out of planned work). I messaged Lauren explaining that it was completely fine if she wanted to push back the project, but thankfully she absolutely wanted to go ahead. I am still so grateful of not only the work, but the friendship that sparked over that that next year whilst we worked together, it was very special to me at such a strange time, we both were trying to muddle our way through those tricky times, and honestly what a treat to be on that journey with someone as kind, thoughtful, level headed and sincere as Lauren, and wonderful to have achieved such a beautiful project during those dark times.
Lauren’s brief was very clear; timeless, chic & classic. We used a refined modern serif font and paired it with a beautiful handwritten typeface to add a personal and more casual touch when needed. I created a suite of botanical illustrations for her, these were to add special flourishes to the website and other digital marketing. Lauren has gone on to use these illustrations in collaboration with The English Stamp Company to create a range of stamps for the charity Women’s Aid as well as a collaboration with Emily Rollings.
Designing Lauren’s website was a steep learning curve for me, it forced me to master new skills in custom CSS and also to ask for help when I needed it. I grew and learn’t so much during the project and made wonderful professional relationships with people who are now a part of my permanent extended team which allows me offer so much more to my clients.
The website has some very clever customisation. Most of it has been custom built including the Shop My Feed section - this section allows users to view Lauren’s Instagram feed on her website and then shop the items that she is wearing or using - so smart.
We also had great fun designing the Handpicked section on the website, a place where Lauren can share her latest finds from the internet and housing them into very handy curated shopping wish lists - great for style or home interiors inspiration and gifting ideas.
Kind Words…
Sophie is not only incredibly talented, she’s also an absolute joy to work with. Always calm, kind and professional and somehow manages to make time for everyone.
Sophie was able to take the scramble of ideas floating around in my head and turn them into something that I feel truly reflects me. I’m so proud of the online space she’s created, which has become the backbone of my little corner of the internet.
- words by lauren mcdermottWhat We Delivered
Photography courtesy of Lauren
