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Laura JOHNSTON
EVP, Executive C.D. | GEOMETRY GLOBAL
Laura serves as an Executive Creative Director at Geometry Global - Chicago, carefully minding the award-winning creative product on the Mondelez, Kraft, Hill's, Waste Management, and Coca-Cola clients. Equal parts writer, creative leader and conceptual triage nurse, Laura enjoys a good new business pitch and getting creative with just about everything from marketing ideas to staffing charts (when called upon). Laura holds a BA in Journalism, with a minor in Fine Art/ Printmaking, from Northwestern University. She also recently received her certification in UX Design from SlideRule Labs.
influences
questionnaire
What was your very first job?
Concessions professional at a movie theater. I got punched in the stomach for the first time, but the job included unlimited popcorn and soda and theater sound-systems we could pirate after hours. Best. Job. Ever.
Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails.
I remove the things that get in the way of the creative geniuses around me doing brilliant work. In other words, I'm an ECD.
How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today?
When I was five years old, I loved directing the neighborhood kids in our own made up theatrical productions. I couldn't sing or act, but I was good at making up stories and directing others. My tenth grade English teacher, Mrs. Winter, told our class that if we were the kinds of people who noticed the things that no one else notices, we were probably doomed to be writers. Thus, I was doomed. I've managed my career pretty simply: Do more of the things I like. Less of the things I don't. One of the things I do very much like is being given the thing that no one else wants to work on--and making it great anyway.
In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant?
Learn something. Have hobbies. UX design, yoga instruction, improvisational comedy, swing dancing, jewelry design, playing the bass guitar--those are a few of mine.
If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be?
That's like asking me to pick my favorite child. "Make Them Yours," local experiential event for Levis. "Screw It, Let's Ride" for Harley. "Your Other Address," a PO Box for the United States Postal Service. "Own 'Em" for Sprite. "Harness the Horsepower" for Wrangler NASCAR. "Twist That Dish" for Kraft. See, I just can't choose.
