Meet Lila Mitchell | Brand Designer + Owner of Calor Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lila Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lila, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I grew up in an artistic household. My mom went to SCAD for painting, and my dad was a super talented ceramicist. I grew up with crayons in my hands and have been creating for as long as I can remember!

In college, I was kind of all over the place. I changed my major five times. I was good at Biology in high school and really thought I was going to be a marine biologist. Sophomore year, I was in Chemistry and would walk back to my car past UGA’s art school, Lamar Dodd, with my friend every day. Every time I saw a student carrying a giant portfolio around, I would tell my friend how cool I thought it would be to be an art student. He finally looked at me and said “Well why don’t you?”.

I scheduled a meeting at Lamar Dodd, changed my major, and dropped out of Chemistry that week. I used my free time that semester to paint and fell back in love with art! People always tell artists that it’s hard to make a living off of their work, which scares a lot of people away from studying it in school. That’s honestly probably why I picked Graphic Design- I knew nothing about it but knew it had an easier career path than some of the other art forms I was interested in. But if you’re passionate about anything, I’ve found it’s easy to get others excited about it!

Now I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a brand identity designer, meaning I mainly create designs for other companies. I love getting to know my clients and creating work that truly represents their business and their goals.

A lot of people think of their brand as just a logo, but it’s so much more than just that! Your brand is how you present yourself in every aspect of your business, from your colors and fonts to the way you write and talk. My design process starts with in depth research about the client, their industry, their competitors, and their goals to help position them for success. It all sounds really serious and intense, but I also try to make the process fun for business owners! It’s a collaborative process, and nailing the research makes it much easier to create a brand identity that fits perfectly.

I’ve built my business around my personal style, which is very colorful and wild. I like creating things that are complex and have a lot of pieces that come together to give a business a very distinct look. A lot of work nowadays is very clean and minimal, and I’m hoping to help businesses understand that they don’t have to have a plain, sans-serif logo in black and white to look professional.

I also realized that a lot of the local businesses that I’ve talked with don’t have a massive budget to rebrand their business. One of the most important values that I have established with Calor Creative is to Do Good. Graphic design is definitely not a life-saving profession, but good design can make a huge difference in the success of your business. I’ve started a program to give away one free branding package a year to a business that needs and deserves it, and that does good in their community. I think it’s important to use the skills I have to help others attract resources and funding, which in turn helps them to help even more people. It’s cool how design can set off a chain reaction like that.

Building a business is definitely a challenge. The legal and financial side has been the biggest challenge for me, but I’ve learned so much just in the span of a year! It has been so rewarding to know that what I’m building is mine, and that I can make decisions about what projects to take on, what to focus on, when to take time off, and one day how to treat my employees. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from starting a business is just to go for it! I used to get in my head about not being “qualified” for something and wouldn’t even try. But some of the best opportunities that I’ve had this past year have come from just putting myself out there and seeing what happens!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Coffee to start the day, of course! We’d start at Chrome Yellow for a latte and sit for a bit. We’d spend the rest of the morning wandering around the High Museum.

We’d grab some brisket tacos at Taqueria del Sol (and maybe a margarita). The part of me that wanted to be a Marine Biologist would insist on a visit to the Georgia Aquarium, where we’d spend the afternoon.

On the way back to Athens, we’d stop for dinner at Thai Norcross. Their spicy seafood soup is the perfect end to an Atlanta trip!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ll dedicate my shoutout to my current boss, mentor, and friend, Hannah (@hingecreativeco)! After college I was pretty lost on where I wanted to work and what I wanted to do. Hannah offered to take me to lunch and gave me invaluable advice about design, freelancing, and business. A few months later, she offered me a job and it’s been a whirlwind since!

Seeing how she built Hinge Creative Co. was one of the biggest pushes that got me interested in starting my own business. Hannah has been the biggest source of support and advice while I’ve been building my own business, Calor Creative. It’s pretty hard to find an employer who encourages their designers to pursue work outside of the studio they work for (a lot of studios prohibit any kind of freelance work, much less building a business on the side) but she hasn’t hesitated to encourage me to pursue this dream! She’s the first to get excited about the work I do for Calor, and truly cares about what’s going on in my life and not just what I do at work.

I couldn’t imagine being where I am today without her advice and support, and the experience I’ve gained working for her company.

Website: https://calorcreative.design

Instagram: @calorcreative

Linkedin: Lila Mitchell

Other: Email: lila@calorcreative.design

Image Credits
Headshot by Jason Gaona