Meet the 2021-22 Designer-in-Residence: Lauren Leung Cramer
This ongoing series of web posts profiles the 2021-2022 UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture’s Student Strategic Communications Team.
The UCLA Arts Office of the Dean is looking for motivated students to work with the strategic communications team throughout the 2022–23 academic year. All open positions are part-time employment for current UCLA students.
This story features Lauren Leung Cramer, who was the 2021-2022 Designer-in-Residence. This interview was conducted in May 2022.
Lauren Leung Cramer has played an active role in the design community for her four years at UCLA. She is the current Design Lead for UCLA Housing Media, a “family” that she has been a part of for the past three years, and also the Design Co-Head for FEM Newsmagazine, UCLA’s oldest feminist publication.
When Cramer stumbled upon the UCLA Arts Strategic Communications Team’s Designer-in-Residence job posting in September 2021, she was eager to apply. “I’ve been [immersed] in UCLA Arts for my entire college career and I feel like I’ve become familiar with the brand [and visual identity].” she said. “I was interested in playing some part of that in my work.”
For Cramer, the Designer-in-Residence position has been enjoyable and low-pressure. The role has given her the room to be experimental in a professional space. “Because it is a student job within the arts, there is an understanding that we have our own creative vision and they give us room to make us known in the work we create.” she said.
In her last quarter, Cramer is working on several large experimental design projects. “It’s definitely [been] a big undertaking to complete all the projects in the span of ten weeks, especially when I’m the one that is defining the scope”. she said.
Cramer is carrying out an independent study project under the advisory of Professor Lauren Lee McCarthy. Last quarter, Cramer began explorations within web design and took an immediate interest in the medium. “With [McCarthy’s] expertise and guidance, I wanted to deepen my skills and think about net art in a more conceptual level.” she said. She is also taking Professor Rebeca Méndez’s Ecological Arts and Justice Fieldwork Practice, the final class of a three part sequence within the department. Cramer is exploring oceanic issues through a collaborative zine design project that is rooted in research and fieldwork practice.
Her biggest focus has been the design media arts senior capstone show, something she has been anticipating for the last four years in the program. “Finally getting the opportunity to use all the skills that I’ve acquired in DMA is a lot of pressure but also very exciting”. she said. “There are no restrictions in what I can do - but I’m getting a lot of support [from faculty and community]”.
Amidst the rigor of her academic and professional pursuits, Cramer always finds a way to center play and experimentation in her work and life. Cramer exercises her artistic sensibilities within an impressive range of mediums. Outside of graphic design, she dabbles in everything from jewelry making to illustration and is most excited when she is stepping into the creative unknown. This is a creative value that is not only technically, but also thematically, reflected in her work.
Cramer’s senior capstone project is an exploration around memory and childhood innocence, which will take a final multimedia and interactive form. The exhibition centers her playful and innovative visual language, alongside a powerful personal story. Employing the child-like imagery of “tsotchkes and trinkets”, the goal of her installation is to immerse viewers in “the feeling of sifting through the silt of the past and uncovering memories piece by piece".
"UCLA Arts has given me the opportunity to create work that
I genuinely care about and is not only supplemental to
my professional career but also how I see
the world as an artist."
Lauren Leung Cramer
In her last quarter, with so many creative endeavors on her plate, Cramer has started to understand how it might feel to be a practicing artist after graduation. And she is having fun with it.
The pandemic has alleviated a lot of Cramer’s pressure around her work. “I feel more comfortable [creating] for my own enjoyment, for my own spiritual and psychological growth.” she said. “I now have a [clearer] understanding of why I value being an artist and to what capacity I want it to be a part of my life. UCLA Arts has given me the opportunity to create work that I genuinely care about and is not only supplemental to my professional career but also just how I see the world as the artist.”
Cramer puts trust in exploration and serendipity within her creative process.
“I’m most successful [creatively] when I’m just experiencing my life and unintentionally stumbling on inspiration, even if it’s just surfing the internet or going on a walk and seeing a cool tree, or going to a bookstore and finding an interesting book.” she said. “I think if I’m in the right mindset, I can find inspiration from anything - that often works better than forcing myself to [seek out ideas].”
Cramer has also been watching and recommending the Apple TV series “Severance”, a psychological thriller and sci-fi production that tackles dystopian futures and work-life balance. On weekends, she enjoys going to estate sales, trying new foods, and discovering hidden spots in the city.
Cramer continues the search for new and playful corners of art and design to explore. After graduation, she will be going “wherever the wind takes [her]” within the greater Los Angeles area.
You can find Lauren and her work at https://laurenis.me/.
Story by Maya Lu
Maya Lu is the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture Strategic Communications Story Producer in Residence and a fourth-year undergraduate in Design Media Arts.
Photos: Courtesy of Lauren Leung Cramer
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