Lisa McGill
Lisa McGill
Designer / Founder of The Curio Table
Chicago, Il
www.thecuriotable.com
instagram @thecuriotable
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m a graphic designer, letterer and illustrator specializing in branding and packaging, and surface pattern design. ”
I help brands craft their visual voice for their products and campaigns to resonate with their target audience or customer. I combine marketing expertise, research, storytelling, and craftsmanship to help brands and organizations stand out in their fields. As a letterer and illustrator, I also provide custom illustrated quotes and wordmarks as well as illustrations in my signature style to add a unique and dynamic vibe to clients’ projects and products.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I have been some kind of visual creator for as long as I can remember, but I really channeled that energy into a design education in college, and was able to build my career both in-house and freelance at several national food and grocery CPG brands. I built a diverse range of experience for large and small brands alike in several different categories of culinary, beverage, and hospitality applications. In 2016 I started my design shop selling personal lettering and illustration pieces, expanding over the years to unite my design services and artisanal goods under the same studio brand, The Curio Table, where I provide not only design, branding, lettering, illustration and surface pattern services, but also high quality goods featuring my designs.
How do you stand out in your field?
I’m proud of the research-driven, curiosity-focused approach I take with each client and project to really understand their needs and goals. A brand is not a logo alone, and I ensure the client gets a holistic experience and end-deliverables that can be applied as a strong, adaptable, and recognizable visual brand for years to come.
I am also (coming from the food and CPG industry) very proficient in the technical ins and outs of executing a brand and visual across many types of products in a line, what makes an adaptable brand system, and many other important production-related details that may be overlooked by a designer focusing solely on aesthetic visuals.
I have a multifaceted skillset that is based heavily in illustration, concepting, and printmaking skills in addition to design, and this background heavily informs and empowers my design sense and workflow.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am working on building out my studio’s lettered vinyl sticker offerings on a bunch of really fun materials including holographic and prismatic.
I’m also gradually launching a collection of different digital brushsets, palettes, textures and more for sale as design tools to help out my fellow creatives.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
My style is bright, organic, lettering forward, and a little retro inspired. I like to draw heavily on themes of the culinary world, STEM, literature, and social justice. A good example is either my ‘Small Steps Make Giant Leaps’ lettering (inspired both by the moon landing and psychedelic lettering of the era) and my The Devil Has Enough Advocates piece.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I would love to build more in-depth social media marketing skills as well as SEO to be better empowered to market my work on more platforms.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
For non-client personal work, what’s frustrating is a lot of the admin upkeep of uploading and archiving files—especially since I’m expanding into some more digital product marketplace offerings and some print on demand items that require many specialized formats.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would definitely have them help with a lot of the file formatting and maintenance admin I mentioned!
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
Stop constantly comparing your career to others. Start your business. Jump in. Post your Etsy shop. I had so much impostor syndrome and “analysis paralysis” when I first started out about everything being “perfect” or “just the right time”.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I would love to talk to someone at the forefront of sustainable packaging and creative materials, and the ecology of its lifecycle in the market. As designers we have much more of a role in addressing the global impact of our industries than we think, and it would be great to hear their honest expert takes on this whole field so I can apply that further to my work!
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I am looking for opportunities to create brand standards, execute and expand on existing brands, design packaging graphics, and provide custom lettering and illustrations for likeminded brands and organizations to stand out.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I have had great collaborations with brands and groups in the culinary and hospitality world. My ideal clients and projects are like-minded brands and organizations in the food, literary, and STEM fields. I would love to be able to collaborate on visuals for STEM advocacy and science communication, and community and social justice initiatives as well.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Reach out via e-mail at hello@thecuriotable.com for project inquiries, along with your budget, timeframe, and a basic scope of your current needs and we can take it from there!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Cooking, nature, science, and documentaries.
This member profile was originally published in November 2020.