Domestika Creatives: Lauren Tamaki
Illustrator, designer, and art director Lauren Tamaki has mastered how to adapt her unique style to a range of mediums: from editorial illustration to animation and portraits
You’ve probably spotted her work when you’ve opened The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, or come across her commissions for Apple, Google, Nickelodeon or the agency Pentagram. Lauren Tamaki’s unique and vibrant style and passion for acrylics have made her one of the most interesting US illustrators of recent years.
Tamaki recently welcomed us into her New York studio to talk about her passion for fashion design, her celebrity portraits, drawing from a feminist perspective, and her greatest feat: drawing Bill Cosby’s trial. Discover more in the following video:
Passion for fashion
While Tamaki has worked on a range of projects–from editorial design to animation and portraits–what she enjoys the most as a creative is combining her love for drawing and fashion: “When I was deciding what to do with my life, I knew I liked to draw and that I liked fashion,” she says.
The illustrator has drawn portraits of such celebrities as Kanye West, Brad Pitt, and Tilda Swinton. She reveals that the first time seeing Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra made a huge impact on her: the theatricality, glamour, and costumes and accessories stayed with her throughout her career.
A feminist perspective
Tamaki explains that she is especially drawn to projects that allow her to defend women’s rights. She always sets out to present her work from a feminist perspective. One of the most difficult challenges she has faced over her career was when she was commissioned by The New York Times to draw, in her own style, ex-comedian Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case.
“They commissioned me to draw it as I saw it, not to judge him or as satire, but to be sat there as a woman, listening to all the testimonials. I’m sure it impacted the way I drew it, as someone small,” the illustrator explains.
Launch yourself at the world
Tamaki concludes by turning her attention to young illustrators: “If I could give advice to someone who’s just starting out, it would be to focus on the work. If the work is good and you can connect with the outside world, speak to people, get involved in the community… then you can thrive in this.
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