Life and Work with Katie Ladd

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Ladd.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL and went on to study graphic design at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

I found my love for art like many people—through attentive art teachers. I remember the day I discovered who Georgia O’Keefe was in elementary school. That was a formative day. My most useful quality has always been my intense curiosity, which I can easily attribute to the encouragement and unwavering support I received from my parents, teachers, and peers growing up.

In college, I enrolled in classes outside of my specialty like vegetable gardening and metalworking for sculpture. I experimented with collage techniques and graduated with a portfolio mostly filled with conceptual art. Living in Gainesville taught me about creative community and the vital role of small businesses and nonprofits in maintaining a vibrant local economy. (I think this is partially why I feel at home working in a startup culture.) After graduation in May 2015, I took the proverbial ego-check and moved right back in with my parents. I spent the summer unemployed but applying… escaping only once to help a friend install a show at her artist-run space in the Little Haiti district of Miami.

And then, I was lucky: an alumnus from my program vouched for me and I accepted my first real job offer: I would be traveling to Cupertino, CA for a few weeks to work as a freelance print production designer with Apple.

Exhausted from 12-hour days, I received even better news. I was going to be a creative resident for 72U (72andSunny’s in-house artist residency program) in Los Angeles. I remember feeling relieved to have the next three months figured out and even more excited that I was going to fulfill my dream of living on the West Coast.

After that, I took an internship at a product innovation firm in Marina del Rey, and then another freelance design job at an environmental graphic design agency in Playa Vista and I’ve been living in Los Angeles ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Creative people often have nonlinear pathways, and mine will be no exception. One of my biggest challenges to date was facing several months of unemployment at the end of 2016. This period taught me about financial security and how to hustle to find my own freelance work.

My biggest struggle right now is how to make personal design work and art outside of my full-time job. I love to take on freelance projects for clients with important missions—like Open Future Institute and 826LA (both of which I found via verynice design studio). But I have always felt the need to make work where the client is myself.

I think the most important quality a young woman can have is resilience. My advice would be to keep your eyes and ears out for any opportunity, take risks, and stay hydrated. Traveling and spending time outside helps too.

Please tell us about your work.
Currently, I have a full-time position as a digital designer on the creative team at Tamara Mellon. I specialize in graphic design, art direction, and product styling for startups with a focus on luxury e-commerce. My job challenges me to create the highest quality work at an extremely rapid pace, and I’m proud to work with a company that seriously empowers me and is publicly vocal about feminism and women’s issues. It’s small enough to see the direct impact of my work at the end of the day too, which is very rewarding.

Aside from rehashing my professional experience, I am still developing my “personal style”. I think my use of humor sets me apart from other designers. In my personal work, I try to uncover a broad emotional connection by communicating an individual experience with type and image. I feel successful when I hear that my personal work is relatable.

What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
Finding mentorship can be really challenging—in my experience, it can be helpful to look outside of your discipline for a mentor. You never know what you will learn from someone else’s experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://katie-ladd.com/
• Instagram: @katieladd1

Image Credit:
Vicen Akina, Dimitri Newman, Chelsey Croucher, Kelia Anne MacCluskey

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