LAUREN THOMSON

Albuquerque, NM • thomsonblue@gmail.com • 410.274.5591

Summary

Marketing and creative leader with more than 20 years of experience directing brand strategy, multi-channel communications, graphic design, digital content, public outreach, and creative production for businesses, nonprofits, cultural organizations, and educational institutions. Experienced in leading creative projects and teams, coordinating with internal departments and external partners, and translating complex environmental, educational, and institutional information into clear, engaging public communications. Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, web content management, photography, video, campaign development, accessibility, and brand stewardship. Strong background in studio art and material-based design, landscape design, sustainability, public education, and New Mexico cultural institutions.

Core Qualifications

Professional Experience

University of New Mexico Graduate Studies

Graduate Communications Assistantship

Albuquerque, NM
June 2025–Present

  • Collaborate on comprehensive redevelopment of the Graduate Studies website in Cascade CMS, including information architecture, page design, content organization, HTML, CSS, accessibility, and quality control.
  • Selected to attend the two-day Cascade CMS Virtual Groupcamp in March 2026 for advanced training in university-level content management and web architecture.
  • Manage official social media platforms and develop a consistent digital voice aligned with UNM brand and communication standards.
  • Design digital and print materials supporting graduate programs, student services, funding opportunities, deadlines, events, and institutional initiatives.
  • Develop coordinated outreach campaigns that strengthen awareness of graduate programs and improve communication among administrators, academic departments, and students.
  • Review content and visual materials for brand consistency, accessibility, clarity, accuracy, and usability.

UNM Art Museum

Marketing & Communications Outreach

Albuquerque, NM
April–August 2026

  • Support marketing and communications for a university art museum, promoting exhibitions, public programs, events, and institutional initiatives to campus and community audiences.
  • Design digital and print materials in accordance with museum and university brand standards.
  • Develop content for web, email, social media, and other promotional platforms.
  • Collaborate with museum staff to translate curatorial, educational, and program information into clear, visually engaging public communications.
  • Maintain consistency in visual identity, messaging, and presentation across marketing materials.

Lauren Thomson Design

Communications Consultant & Creative Lead

Remote
April 2001–Present

  • Direct branding, graphic design, website, and communications projects for businesses, nonprofits, and cultural organizations.
  • Develop and maintain visual identities across advertising, websites, print collateral, signage, presentations, photography, video, and digital communications.
  • Translate organizational goals and complex subject matter into clear, audience-focused visual and written communications.
  • Guide clients in the consistent application of logos, typography, color systems, messaging, and other brand standards.
  • Manage projects from initial strategy and creative development through approval, production, launch, and ongoing maintenance.
  • Coordinate with clients, printers, developers, photographers, contractors, and other creative partners, including remote teams.
  • Design and maintain websites in WordPress and Webflow, incorporating responsive design, usability, accessibility, and content strategy.
  • Prepare professional production files for commercial printing, digital publication, signage, vinyl fabrication, and multimedia use.

Guidestone Colorado

Creative Director

Salida, CO
January 2022–August 2022

  • Directed visual communications, branding, and marketing strategy for agricultural, educational, and sustainability programs.
  • Created print and digital materials that translated ecological and agricultural subject matter into engaging public communications.
  • Maintained consistent messaging and visual presentation across programs, events, fundraising materials, and public outreach.
  • Collaborated with staff, community partners, performers, vendors, and contractors on organizational initiatives.
  • Conceived and launched a live music and outreach series designed to expand community participation and donor engagement.
  • Managed projects from concept development through production and implementation.

Valley View Farms Garden Center & Nursery

Creative Director / Design Consultant

Cockeysville, MD
2000–2010; 2024–Present

  • Directed branding, advertising, graphic design, signage, and public communications for a large regional garden center and horticultural retailer.
  • Designed seasonal campaigns, newspaper advertising, direct mail, promotional materials, educational displays, event graphics, and environmental signage.
  • Maintained a recognizable visual identity across retail, advertising, educational, and customer-facing applications.
  • Worked with management, horticultural staff, vendors, printers, photographers, and media representatives to coordinate marketing and production.
  • Developed interpretive and informational materials for a 10-acre retail and demonstration garden environment.
  • Designed and developed a new Webflow website in 2025, resulting in a 350% increase in website traffic.
  • Created photography, written content, page layouts, and digital assets for the redesigned website.

Selected New Mexico Design & Communication Projects

Graduate Thesis Practicum & Project

Castetter Cactus Garden Rehabilitation & Interpretation • University of New Mexico • 2026–Present

Currently developing a research- and archives-based rehabilitation and interpretation plan for UNM’s historic Castetter Cactus Garden at Zimmerman Library, including a comprehensive LibGuide. The project integrates site history, landscape design, planting, signage, public art, historic preservation considerations, outreach and awareness, and long-term stewardship.

Artists and Their Gardens

Research Paper • 2025

Researched and wrote a paper examining how artists created and used gardens as extensions of their artistic practice, and how landscape, planting, place, and creative work informed one another.

INVADERS! Plants Reshaping and Challenging New Mexico’s Ecosystems

Exhibition Design • 2025

Developed an exhibition concept for a botanical garden focused on invasive plant species in New Mexico, including interpretation, visual design, and visitor education.

PLACE Documentary & Open-Air Museum Proposal

2025

  • Produced a short film and proposal presenting UNM’s public art, architecture, and landscape as a cohesive “open-air museum.”
  • Developed interpretation strategies, signage concepts, branding, collection recommendations, and approaches to stewardship, outreach, and education.

Regenerative Indigenous Landscape Research & Design Study

2023

  • Collaborated with traditional knowledge holders on the design of a phased permaculture site, orchard, and homestead in northern New Mexico.
  • Researched and incorporated Pueblo, Tewa, and early Hispano New Mexican knowledge and regenerative practices into site planning and visual design.

Nob Hill Placemaking Study

2023

  • Conducted site analysis, grading, and drainage planning for Triangle Park in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill.
  • Developed a conceptual plan for a more pedestrian-friendly community space with native planting, gathering areas, and improved circulation.

Bear Arroyo Eco-Corridor Study & Proposal

2023

  • Developed a plan to reimagine an urban arroyo as an ecological and public-use corridor with pollinator habitat, public art, educational gardens, and recreation.
  • Created planting plans, interpretive signage, and design concepts supporting ecological education and community use.

Education

University of New Mexico

  • Master’s in Museum Studies, expected 2026
  • Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation, expected 2027
  • Previous graduate study: 2 years in Landscape Architecture
  • GPA: 4.21
  • Dekker/Perich/Sabatini Design Scholarship, 2023

Maryland Institute College of Art

  • Certificate, Metalsmithing and Jewelry

University of Pennsylvania

  • Bachelor of Arts, English Literature
  • Concentration: 19th-century novel

Art Practice & Materials

Material-based studio practice includes encaustic painting, woodworking, fabrication, weaving and other fiber arts, embroidery, clothing upcycling, furniture restoration, writing, and metalsmithing.

Technical Skills

Graphic Design & Multimedia: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Acrobat, Procreate, photography, video editing, presentation design, print production, digital advertising, environmental graphics, and signage

Web & Digital: WordPress, Webflow, Cascade CMS, HTML, CSS, UX/UI, responsive design, content architecture, accessibility, and digital asset preparation

Design & Visualization: AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhino, drawing, rendering, prototyping, and fabrication

Communications: Brand development, creative direction, campaign design, copywriting, editing, public relations, press outreach, interpretation, and stakeholder communication