Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren N. Bailey.
Hi Lauren, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hey! Thank you for reaching out. I am a graphic designer and visual artist based in Los Angeles. My parents moved from the San Pedro area of Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona shortly after I was born. I spent most of my life in Arizona, and have always stayed active in art and music communities out there.
When I was in my teens, friends that knew I was into art would encourage me to help make flyers for shows they were booking or playing around town, and sometimes in other cities. At the time, I didn’t even know that what I was doing was considered “graphic design” until a vegan coffee shop/restaurant I was working at around 2011 asked if I was interested in helping them do “graphic design” for the business… Shortly after, I decided I wanted to understand graphic design on a deeper level, so I pursued my BS in Visual Communication from Arizona State University, where I learned to think about color, layouts, and typography in ways I had not previously considered.
In 2019, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue art and design on a freelance basis. Although I work across industries, I prefer to stay close to my roots, mostly focusing on music and small business projects. In August of 2019, I founded my own project – Chaotic No Good. At the time, I was not getting as many music-related projects as I would have liked, but I wanted to stay active with producing work, so I was like “Fuck it, if no one wants to hire me, I am going to make bootleg t-shirts and cassettes.” That’s been received very well and has been a ton of fun. In 2021, I started renting a studio in Hollywood with my friend Maddie Liner of Liner Poster.
Alright, 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?
It is a smooth road at times but there are many obstacles that come up as well. Over the years, I have been working on my communication skills so that I can improve the expectations related to projects for both me and the client before the project even begins. This includes things like realistic turnaround times, limiting revisions, defining scope of a project, and making sure I am appropriately compensated so I can afford to continue working this way. Doing this has for sure helped improve the quality of the road we’re traveling on!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I primarily work in print design – lately, I have been designing lots of cassette j-cards, but also do record album artwork, flyers for shows, posters, zines, books, movie posters, custom dice, handmade jewelry, branding for small businesses, t-shirt designs, and more.
Recently, my friends at Wastoids.com described my visual specialty as “stark colors and vivid designs” which I really liked. Part of my process is playing around with different processes like risograph, old halftone laser printers, and linoleum block printing to apply real, physical qualities and textures to designs.
I am most proud of my cassettes, of course. I have put out 8 tapes – 5 bootlegs and 3 original releases. For all the cassettes, I design the j-cards, cut, fold, label, dub, and pack the cassettes myself. It is a fun way to make fan art basically, for the music I like, and share that with people with my original artwork/designs attached. My cassettes are unique because the j-cards are risograph printed, which gives them super vibrant colors with beautiful textures. I work with a series of risograph printers around LA, including Martian Press, Tiny Splendor, and Deemed Printable.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I mean I definitely couldn’t do it without the help of the risograph printers I mentioned above – Martian Press (Stephanie Lane Gage), Tiny Spelndor (Cynthia Navarro), and Deemed Printable (Jeff Fribourg)! My partner, Collin Fletcher, has been by my side since college and we have been bouncing designs and ideas off each other the whole time. I also have the most amazing, supportive, hot, and creative studio mate, Maddie Liner, who motivates me and comes up with endless ideas with me. Brian Cole of Funeral Party Records is a longtime collaborator and friend that has given me consistent work for projects I am excited about. The LA, Phoenix, and Tucson music communities have also been the biggest influences and supporters of what I am doing and working towards, so I am forever indebted to the countless people in these communities that have supported and encouraged me to work towards my creative goals.
Pricing:
- T-shirt Designs start at $150+
- Cassette Designs start at $250+
- Full Album Packaging starts at $500+
- Logo Designs start at $150+
- Hit me with your ideas!
Contact Info:
- Email: lauren@chaoticnogood.com
- Website: chaoticnogood.com
- Instagram: @chaoticnogood
- Other: Tik Tok @chaoticnogood
Image Credits
Lauren N. Bailey
