Lauren Hartstone is a Creative Director and Partner at Sibling Rivalry, where she's spent the past decade mastering the art of fusing brand architecture with compelling storytelling. From creating iconic title sequences at Imaginary Forces to revolutionizing sports graphics, her journey reveals h...
Lauren Hartstone is a Creative Director and Partner at Sibling Rivalry, where she's spent the past decade mastering the art of fusing brand architecture with compelling storytelling. From creating iconic title sequences at Imaginary Forces to revolutionizing sports graphics, her journey reveals how creative fearlessness and systematic thinking can transform entire industries.
Growing up with a market research executive father and artist mother, Lauren developed an understanding of both human behavior and visual expression. Her obsession with David Fincher's Se7en title sequence led her to Imaginary Forces for five transformative years. At Gretel, she experienced a humbling moment of having to step back and learn systematic branding. Becoming a mother of two fundamentally shifted her leadership approach—embracing merged work-life roles rather than separation.
Now revolutionising sports graphics, Lauren's admission of knowing nothing about the sector became her greatest asset. Her philosophy centers on finding stories that already exist, working smarter as a leader, and maintaining excitement about possibility even after decades in the industry.
Key moments:
- Merge branding with storytelling: The most powerful work happens when systematic brand thinking meets emotional narrative craft—they're not separate disciplines but symbiotic forces that strengthen each other
- The story is usually already there: Stop searching for manufactured insights and bigger concepts outside—the most authentic and resonant stories often exist within the brand, the people, or the culture you're trying to represent
- Strategic fearlessness beats safe permanence: Brands hold back from bold creative choices because they fear permanence, but campaigns are ephemeral—there's more power in being willing to take expressive risks that can evolve over time
- Fresh perspective is your superpower: Not knowing a sector intimately isn't a weakness—it's an opportunity to bring new eyes, question conventions, and offer what you do best without being constrained by industry dogma
- Leadership shifts from hours to impact: As you grow into creative leadership, especially as a parent, your value transforms from volume and hours worked to vision, clarity, and the ability to work smarter and faster
- Keep work and life merged, not separated: The stress of maintaining rigid boundaries between creative passion and family responsibilities can be replaced by flexible integration—showing your children what creative work looks like teaches possibility
- Stay excited about where things could go: After decades in the industry, maintaining genuine enthusiasm for "there's so many places this could go" at the start of each project keeps creativity alive and prevents complacency
- Find where you feel your best self: Long-term creative fulfilment requires finding the team, the environment, and the work that allows you to stretch, learn, feel confident, and be authentically yourself.
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