Welcome to Chicago North Shore Moms’ Meet a Mom weekly spotlight series where we highlight a local mom and her professional endeavors, career aspirations and lessons learned. This week, we’re excited to introduce you to Lincolnshire mom of two Jill Lawlor, the designer behind Jill Lawlor Creative, a local brand, graphic and web design boutique known for work that is both strategic and striking. Jill’s focus? She helps women-owned businesses look and feel as strong and intentional as the ideas behind them. With a background in visual communication, marketing, and an MBA, Jill brings clear vision and execution to the intersection of creativity and business strategy. Her designs speak for themselves (pun intended).
Get to know Jill, her favorite spots including a fabulous North Shore clothing boutique, a great book she’s currently reading, even better tv show recs, what it’s like to work with her, and a golden nugget of graphic design do’s and don’ts! Welcome, Jill.
Hi Jill. Please introduce yourself. Where are you from originally? What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
Hi! I’m a mom to two girls (a tween and a teen), and the founder of Jill Lawlor Creative. I grew up in southwest Michigan and now live in Lincolnshire. We originally moved to the city for work opportunities, and over time found our way north as our family grew. We love the sense of community here. The small-town feel, great schools, and open space make it a wonderful place to call home.
Tell us about your children and do brag away.
I have two girls, and I’m endlessly proud of both of them – especially how different they are from each other. My older daughter is a freshman in high school and incredibly driven. She loves baking, working with younger kids and individuals with special needs, history and social studies, and flag football. She’s deeply loyal to her friends, passionate about the people and causes she cares about, and not afraid to stand firm in her beliefs. She’s truly a force. And she’s counting down the days until she can start driver’s training.
My younger daughter just started middle school and is sweet, kind, and wonderfully creative. She has a big imagination, a great sense of humor, and a very easygoing, thoughtful nature. She loves adventure and fantasy books and movies, has a close group of friends, and spends a lot of time dancing at Movement & Sound— tap, musical theater, Poms Jazz — along with dabbling in volleyball, softball, and football. She recently signed up for a LEGO robotics club, which was totally new for her, and I loved seeing her decide to try something outside her comfort zone.
What are one or two fun or interesting things to know about you?
Lately, I’ve been having a lot of fun making flower arrangements – just small ones for my home or as gifts for friends. I was looking for a creative outlet that wasn’t tied to client work or deadlines and didn’t turn into a big, ongoing project. As a small business owner and parent, I needed something I could do in short bursts and enjoy. I love hunting through thrift stores for interesting vases and wandering Trader Joe’s picking out flowers with different colors, textures, and scale.
And one interesting fact about me is that I’ve worked in professional baseball, in the front offices of the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.
What are your favorite North Shore places, spaces and eats to frequent with family, date night, hang out, etc.?
We have so many favorite North Shore spots, but Ravinia is at the top of the list (of course!). In the summer, you’ll also find us at Lincolnshire Swim Club, which is a favorite for our family. For everyday life, I’m often grabbing sushi at Starfish or meeting someone for coffee at Café D’Oro. I love popping into The Honey House for local honey and gifts, and Bolt Addiction is my go-to when I want to shop local for clothes. Midtown Athletic Club is where I like to work out and catch up with friends, and Daniel Wright Forest Preserve is a favorite for walks and fresh air.
Any good reads or tv shows you’ve binged lately?
My favorite book this year was Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers... and I’m not alone in that one. Everyone in my book club loved it. It was such a fun, unexpected read and a great mix of humor and heart.
As for TV, I really loved Nobody Wants This, Only Murders in the Building, and Severance.
Your mantra?
Focus on what matters most.
It’s time to get down to business. Please introduce Jill Lawlor Creative!
Jill Lawlor Creative is a brand identity and web design studio, where I work with small businesses and women entrepreneurs to help their businesses look as good as they truly are. I started the studio in 2021, and it’s grown into a business built around collaboration, strategy, and real relationships.
I specialize in brand identity design — logos, color palettes, typography, and complete visual systems — and website design. My process is thoughtful and hands-on, and many of my clients are local, which means we often collaborate in person. That personal connection is a big part of how I work and something my clients really value.
Why hire a graphic designer over DIY Canva?
I actually love Canva and I use it myself all the time for things like social media graphics, newsletter headers, and layout-based design after a brand is established. Where Canva falls short is in logo design and brand development. When you start with templates, you often end up with a look that feels generic and doesn’t truly reflect your business or set you apart.
A professional designer creates a custom brand identity first – thinking through strategy, typography, color, hierarchy, and how everything works together. Once that foundation is in place, tools like Canva become incredibly useful and empowering. The difference is that your brand feels intentional and unique, not templated or one-size-fits-all.
Please share one of your classic before and after images you include in your emails – the ones that show why font size and placement are so important. What do you want our readers to see?
Something I care a lot about is helping small business owners understand how to use their brand assets effectively — not just handing over files and wishing them luck. Many business owners have to wear the designer hat at times, so I share practical design advice through Instagram, my newsletter, and with my past brand clients to help them use their brand confidently and consistently.
This “Shop Local / Make Spirits Bright” example is a great illustration of that. Both versions use the same words and the same font, but the bottom version uses contrast (specifically font weight) to guide your eye. By making the headline bolder and the supporting text lighter, the message becomes easier to read and more engaging. It’s a small adjustment, but it makes a big difference in clarity and impact. That kind of detail is what helps a brand feel polished and intentional, even in simple, everyday graphics.
Once you have a design package or website completed for a client, do you coach your clients on how to take over? If so, can you elaborate on that?
Absolutely. Education and support are a big part of my process. With both my signature brand package and my website package, clients don’t just receive final designs, they also receive clear guidance on how to use everything. At handoff, I walk them through their brand elements, explain the why behind the decisions, show them how to use their brand as a system (not just a set of files) and how to take over maintenance of their website.
I also include 30 days of post-project support, so clients can reach out as questions come up once they start using their brand or website in the real world. That’s often when the best questions happen – when they’re designing something in Canva, updating their website, or sharing new content. My goal is for clients to feel supported, not overwhelmed, and confident using their brand and website long after the project wraps.
What was the impetus behind going into this line of work? Are you self-taught or does your background help?
I’ve always been drawn to small businesses and the people behind them and a lot of that comes from growing up as the daughter of small business owners. I saw firsthand what it takes to build something of your own using your experience, talents, and a lot of hard work. That perspective stuck with me and really shaped how I approach my work today.
My background absolutely helps. I studied design with a focus on visual communication and marketing, and later earned my MBA, which gave me a strong understanding of how design supports real business goals. I’ve also worked in a variety of professional environments, which shaped how I think about strategy, collaboration, and follow-through. That combination allows me to design with both creativity and practicality in mind – always keeping the business owner’s goals at the center of the work.
How far in advance should we reach out to book services with you?
Ideally, I recommend reaching out about 4–6 weeks in advance. That gives us time to talk through your goals, get on the schedule, and make sure the project feels thoughtful and unrushed. That said, timelines can vary depending on the scope of the project, so it’s always worth starting the conversation early.
What else would you like us to know about Jill Lawlor Creative?
At the heart of Jill Lawlor Creative is collaboration and trust. I love working with business owners who care deeply about what they’re building and want a brand and website that truly reflects that. My goal is always to make the process feel approachable and supportive, not intimidating, and to create work that’s practical, thoughtful, and built to last. I want clients to walk away not only loving how their brand and website looks, but feeling confident using it as their business grows.
And your contact details?
Learn more at lawlorcreative.com. You can also see more examples of my work on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. I look forward to connecting with you!
About Our Meet a Mom Sponsor
Chicago North Shore Moms is supported in part by Mary Gregory Gifford, a Lake Forest mom of three and owner of Gifford Law, a solo Estate Planning Firm (wills and trusts). Mary, we appreciate your support of local moms in our North Shore communities! Learn more about Mary by visiting her Meet a Mom spotlight here! Contact Mary directly here: [email protected].
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