NEWS, AWARDS, RECOGNITION (1999-2025)
ABOUT THIS SECTION
One day it occurred to me I was going to die.
And since the internet has a lifespan of about five minutes, I realized that if my kid ever Googled me, he might not actually know what I was up to all those times I wasn’t smooshing my face into his.
This is my attempt to archive the activity—not to brag, but to leave a trail. To show him (and maybe myself) that all the long hours, deadlines, and weird artistic obsessions might’ve been worth it. Or at least… explainable.
Here lies the news, awards, press, and public-facing side of a very private creative life.
2025: Ongoing Innovation and Recognition
Indovina continues to push creative boundaries through House of Indovina—her platform for visual and philosophical experiments at the intersection of AI, storytelling, and the beautiful flaws of being human. With over two decades of award-winning work behind her, she remains a driving force in the evolution of design, art, and technology.
2025: ADVISORY COMMITTEE, Art Directors Club, NYC
Indovina is invited to join the Art Directors Club (ADC) Advisory Committee, recognizing her as a leading voice in the future of design, storytelling, and emerging creative technologies. Her role aims to help shape the direction of one of the industry’s most prestigious institutions. The ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world. Now in its 103rd year, these awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion and film, gaming, experiential and architecture, photography, illustration and apparel design all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
2025: SPEAKER, The One Club for Creativity – Executive AI Creative Summit
Indovina is invited to speak at The One Club for Creativity’s AI Executive Creative Summit, where she presents her talk “ART IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE ARTIST: Creative Leadership in the Age of Intelligent Tools.” Addressing an audience of global creative leaders, she explores the evolving role of the artist in an era defined by generative AI, automation, and the collapse of traditional creative hierarchies.
2025: JUROR - Artificial Intelligence / The One Club for Creativity, NYC
Recognized as a pioneer at the intersection of AI and creativity, Indovina is appointed Jury President for the Artificial Intelligence category at the ADC 103rd Annual Awards. This prestigious role – along with her continued speaking engagements on AI (e.g. One Club’s Creative Summit) – cements her status as a forward-looking industry leader. Source
2024: JURY PRESIDENT, Artificial Intelligence / The Art Directors Club, NYC
Recognized as a pioneer at the intersection of AI and creativity, Indovina is appointed Jury President for the Artificial Intelligence category at the ADC 103rd Annual Awards. This prestigious role – along with her continued speaking engagements on AI (e.g. One Club’s Creative Summit) – cements her status as a forward-looking industry leader. Source
2024: SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT (SME), Generative AI Certification Program / AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS)
Indovina is invited to serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the inaugural Amazon Web Services Generative AI Certification Program. Contributing alongside leading voices in AI—including researchers, technologists, and futurists—she helps shape the curriculum designed to train and certify the next generation of creative professionals in generative AI. Her role reflects her standing as both a practitioner and thought leader in the evolving landscape of intelligent tools.
2023: DIRECTOR, WINNER (GOLD) Coinbase “The Degen Trilogy” Best Character Designg and Animation, AICP Award & Industry Honors
Indovina is the director for the Coinbase short Run the Chain which wins the 2023 AICP Award for Best Character Design/Animation, placing her work alongside the year’s elite. The film is acquired by MoMA’s permanent collection and also earns a brozen Art Directors Cube as well as a D&AD Shortlist for the same project.
2023: SPEAKER, The one club for creativity “Creative Perspectives” series
Indovina presents a video talk for “Creativity and The Singularity” for The One Club for Creativity exploring the thrilling and unsettling future of art in an AI-driven world. Watch
2023: Co-Creation of Amuse Bouche with Partizan
Indovina co-creates Amuse Bouche, a forward-looking initiative with Partizan aimed at exploring new technologies and storytelling practices in the age of intelligent tools. The project brings together artists and technologists to prototype ideas at the intersection of creativity, AI, and narrative experimentation.
2022: Coinbase “Degen Trilogy” Press
Commissioned by Coinbase to bring NFTs and crypto lore to life and produced by world renown studio Partizan, The Degen Trilogy launched as an ambitious cinematic series introducing five original characters across a three-minute epic. While the project drew widespread criticism for its conceptual sprawl, industry analyst The Defiant offered a sharp and widely circulated breakdown—praising Indovina’s direction as a standout achievement amid an otherwise uneven rollout. The video’s commentary struck a nerve for its entertaining, incisive look at how the creative brief collided with crypto chaos. Despite the broader reception, The Degen Trilogy was also spotlighted by industry staple Stash for its scale, VFX execution, and Indovina’s creative leadership and epic vision.
2022: Tendril Talk – “The Great Rapid Prototyping Movement”
Invited by the visionary artists at Tendril to speak in their acclaimed speaker series, Indovina delivered her talk “The Great Rapid Prototyping Movement.” She explored how technological shifts have enabled artists to iterate faster, experiment more deliberately, and push the boundaries of innovation through accelerated creative exploration.
2021: The Ellis School Alumna Feature
Indovina is profiled by her high school alma mater, recounting her path from childhood creativity to acclaimed directing work on projects like Black Is King. Read more here.
2020: Creation of Monstertown
Indovina teams up with writer Nicholos Black and actor/writer Brando Eaton to develop Monstertown, an original IP blending horror, noir, and social commentary. Actor Michael Cudlitz enters talks for the lead role. Conceived as an interactive comic book website, the project features gritty, cinematic visuals that guide viewers through the narrative—an experimental and exploratory way to pitch original content to studios and stakeholders.
2020 - GOLD AIPC WINNER, Johnnie Walker – Black Magick
Directed by Lauren Indovina | Agency: Giant Spoon | Studio: The-Artery
Indovina helmed this surreal and cinematic campaign for Johnnie Walker, blending live-action, VFX, and poetic visual language into a hypnotic journey through ritual and rebirth. Black Magick was awarded the AICP Honoree distinction for Best Original Music and Sound Design, and was subsequently inducted into the permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The project became a standout example of how commercial work can cross into the realm of fine art, earning accolades for its bold sensory design.
2020: Concept Designer – Beyonce’s Black Is King
Indovina is credited with concept design for Beyoncé’s visual film Black Is King (Disney+).
2020: Director, Amazon + Bento Box’s “UtopiA” Animated Interstitials | Art by João Ruas
“Sometimes the pipeline works. Sometimes it doesn’t. This was one of those times I learned the hard way.”
In 2020, Lauren Indovina signed on as the animation director for Utopia, Amazon’s U.S. adaptation of the beloved UK series. The project featured the hauntingly beautiful artwork of João Ruas, and Indovina assembled a dream team of 2D and 3D illustrators and animators to bring the show’s animated interstitials to life.
The goal was ambitious: build a hybrid pipeline that honored Ruas’s painterly aesthetic while blending PSYOP-caliber 3D rigging with handcrafted 2D charm. It was a bold vision—and one that, despite the team’s best efforts, ultimately couldn’t be fully realized.
While proud of the collaboration and the work that did emerge, Indovina reflects on Utopia as a defining lesson in creative risk:
Work boldly. Build bravely. But understand that even the best plans can buckle under constraints you don’t control.
The show itself was met with harsh criticism and canceled after one season—but for Indovina, the experience remains a testament to what it means to try, to lead, and to let go.
2020: Design Director, Skyworth Campaign – Various featuresShots Magazine
As Design Director, Indovina creates dreamy visuals for Chinese tech brand Skyworth, featured in Shots Magazine, adhugger and others
2019 – Founding of House of Indovina
Experimental Platform | Creative Field Guide
In 2019, Lauren Indovina founded House of Indovina—not as a traditional studio, but as an evolving creative platform. Conceived as a space to explore emerging technologies through art, storytelling, and personal inquiry, House of Indovina functions more like a field guide than a company: a place for unfinished experiments, bold visual research, and narrative prototypes that examine where creativity is headed next.
At its core, the platform is a hybrid—part lab, part sketchbook—designed to challenge the boundaries between human vision and machine intelligence. What began as a private pursuit became public in 2025, when Indovina started releasing her experiments, essays, and animated shorts under the House of Indovina name across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and curated exhibitions.
House of Indovina continues to operate as a myth-making engine and speculative signal lab for the emotionally resonant, weird, and not-yet-possible.
2017 – Juror, Young Guns 2017
Indovina begins judging top design and commercial awards including The Young Guns, AICP and ADC Annual Awards.
2018 – AICP Mystery honor
In 2018, Lauren Indovina received a mysterious but delightful “1 Honor” in the AICP Awards. While the exact category is lost to time (or perhaps buried in the depths of the internet), the recognition placed her name alongside creative heroes like Todd Mueller, Kylie Matulick, and Olivia Wilde—which felt surreal enough to be worth archiving here.
Sometimes you don’t need to know why you’re on the list. Just that you were.
2017: FEATURED ARTIST, Autodesk – “Character Animation + Motion Graphics: A Winning Combination”
Interview & Portfolio Spotlight
Indovina was featured by Autodesk in an in-depth artist spotlight on character design and storytelling for motion graphics. The piece explored her philosophy on creating emotionally resonant characters, her hybrid creative process developed at PSYOP, and her use of unconventional animation pipelines that bridge 2D, 3D, and concept art. Highlighting standout work from commercial campaigns to experimental narratives, the feature positioned Indovina as a leading voice in the fusion of character animation and motion design.
2017: FeatureD ARTIST, The art directors club – “The Imposter In You”
Creative Essay & Artist Feature
Published as part of her ADC Young Guns 11 recognition, Lauren Indovina’s essay “The Imposter in You” explores the complicated relationship between self-doubt and creative ambition. With clarity and candor, she reframes imposter syndrome not as a flaw, but as a natural signal of growth and personal risk-taking. The piece struck a chord with fellow artists, designers, and directors for its rare honesty in a perfection-driven industry.
2014: The Art Director’s Club – “School of Craft: A Shot of Life to a Hungry Vein”
In this editorial course by The Art Director’s Club, Indovina reflects on the craft of merging personal vision with client needs—drawing from her experiences as an ADC Young Guns winner. The title, “A Shot of Life to a Hungry Vein,” comes from one of her most cherished commercial projects, encapsulating her belief that design should be emotionally resonant, not just functional. The piece highlights her ability to bring poetic depth to commercial storytelling, treating every frame as an opportunity to deliver something vital and alive.
2015 – FEATURED ARTIST, Monki Magazine: “Soulful Animation”
Print Feature & Artist Profile
Lauren Indovina was profiled in Monki Magazine for her unique approach to animation and character design, spotlighting her work for artists like Justin Timberlake and The Raveonettes. Titled “Soulful Animation,” the feature explored Indovina’s process as a visual storyteller blending imagination, emotion, and technology. She spoke about directing from a deeply narrative lens, finding inspiration in visionary filmmakers and childhood influences, and embracing digital tools as a new form of authorship
The piece positioned her as a new kind of artist-director: part filmmaker, part inventor—driven by story, soul, and a Wacom tablet.
2016 – Featured artist, Computer Arts “Like Living in My Own Canvas”
Studio Feature & Artist Interview
Lauren Indovina was featured in Computer Arts magazine for her imaginative home studio, described as “a continuation of her family home”—merging her architect father’s Victorian aesthetic with her own love of modern contrast and dark visual storytelling. The feature offered a personal look at Indovina’s creative environment, influences, and design rituals, including her collection of puppets, plants, and Betta fish. It highlighted her philosophy that design is not just work, but a living extension of identity, memory, and mythmaking.
2016: ADC Blog Essay – “A View from the Jury”
In this reflective piece, Indovina opens up about her emotional experience judging motion design for the ADC 95th Annual Awards. The article highlights the intensity, empathy, and responsibility involved in evaluating the year’s best creative work.
2016: FEATURED ARTIST, THE ART DIRECTORS CLUB – “Wild Be in a Honey Hive” WRITTEN BY BRETT MCKENZIE
In a vivid essay by Brett McKenzie, Indovina is described as “wild in the hive”—an instinctive, soul-first artist navigating an industry obsessed with order and polish. This piece captures the raw emotional current behind her work.
2015: D&AD Pencil – Airbnb “Wall and Chain” –
Is a part of the team which wins a D&AD Pencil and Webby for Wall and Chain, a touching animated short art directed by Indovina.
2015: Shots Magazine – British Gas “Warm & Working” –
Directs a charming spot featuring a penguin repairman; featured in Shots Magazine.
2015: Designcollector – Sherwin-Williams Campaign –
Indovina discusses fine art influences in the Emerald Paint Collection commercial.
2014: Emmys Magazine & Monki Magazine Features –
Profiles highlight Indovina’s imaginative animation and her process creating music videos with “just imagination and a computer.”
2013: Super Bowl XLVII – Beck’s Sapphire “Serenade” –
Co-directs this surreal CGI ad featuring a black goldfish during the Super Bowl.
2013: ADC Young Guns 11 –
Honored among the top 30 under 30 creatives worldwide.
2013: Motionographer – “10,000 Arrows to the Heart” –
Indovina is featured after several dynamic years working professionally in motion design. She pens an honest essay and interview chronicling her rise to Creative Director at Psyop. Read
2012: SFNY Conference – The Art of Failure –
Indovina co-presents a signature talk with filmmaker Lucia Grillo at the Style Frames NY conference, titled The Art of Failure. Opening with the line “Failure makes you ugly” (Marco Spier), the two guide a global audience through the deeper beauty of creative missteps. The talk features Psyop’s hauntingly poetic short Failure and unpacks how vulnerability, imperfection, and risk are essential to bold visual storytelling. The session becomes a standout hit of the conference, resonating deeply with artists facing the chaos of the unknown.
2012: Gold AICP Award – Fage “Plain” (Co-Directed with Eben Mears) –
Indovina co-directs the poetic, minimalist ad Plain for Fage Yogurt, alongside the late, brilliant Eben Mears at Psyop. The film wins Gold at the AICP Awards, earning a place in the MoMA permanent collection. The campaign is celebrated for its striking restraint and meditative pacing—an homage to the power of simplicity in an industry often dominated by excess.
2012: Gold Clio & AICP MoMA Honor – FedEx “Enchanted Forest” –
Is a part of the team winning top honors and is archived in MoMA for her concept design work and art direction
2011: Motionographer & Adweek – Fage “Plain” Campaign –
Profiles cover her directorial work on a poetic ad featuring narration by Willem Dafoe.
2010: Motion Conference Keynote – Designing with Meaning –
Indovina delivers a keynote titled Designing with Meaning: The Psyop Approach to Illustrating the Story at the Motion Conference. In the talk, she unpacks Psyop’s collaborative creative process—from dreaming to doing, and the controlled chaos that fuels their illustrative, emotionally resonant storytelling. The session offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at the visual development philosophy that helped define an era of motion design.
2009: Director & Designer – Psyop –
Indovina joins renowned creative studio Psyop as a Director and Designer, marking the start of a prolific decade helming high-profile, visually ambitious campaigns. At Psyop, she directs award-winning work across animation, design, and live action—crafting surreal worlds for brands like FedEx, Beck’s Sapphire, British Gas, and Airbnb. Her signature aesthetic—blending painterly detail with narrative depth—earns her recognition at the Clios, D&AD, and AICP and cements her reputation as one of the studio’s most visionary voices.
2008: One Club Award – Justin Timberlake’s “LoveStoned” –
Wins a One Show award as a team of designers on the visually iconic “blue section.”
2007–2012: Author & Curator – Motionographer –
Indovina was part of the original global editorial team at Motionographer.com, the influential industry site founded by Justin Cone. As a contributing writer and curator, she regularly spotlighted groundbreaking work in animation, motion design, and storytelling—helping shape the dialogue around visual culture during a formative era for the medium.
2007: Relocated to NYC to Creative lead Blind’s NYC Studio –
Indovina is relocated to New York to lead Blind’s East Coast expansion.
2009: Emmy Award – Blind –
Indovina’s original character designs and hand-painted visual language were featured in a music video that earned Blind an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction. Her distinctive aesthetic defined the look and feel of the characters, marking an early milestone in her career as a visual auteur.
2006: Festival Sweep – Fish Heads Fugue (RISD) –
Wins Best Stop Motion at Animex UK, Best Undergraduate Animation at Ottawa, and screens worldwide.
2005: David Rosenberg Memorial Scholarship –
Receives RISD’s top film honor for compassion, creativity, and vision as a junior in the Film/Animation/Video department in honor of David Rosenberg 94 FAV,
2005: Fish Heads Fugue – Festival Launch –
Wins Best Animation at the Hollywood DV Festival and becomes a finalist in Stash’s Global Student Awards.
1999–2001: Carnegie Mellon Pre-College Merit Scholar –
Awarded merit scholarships for three consecutive summers, Indovina attended Carnegie Mellon University’s Pre-College Art Program, where she studied advanced drawing, figure study, and experimental design, laying the foundation for her future as a visual storyteller.
1999: Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts –
At age 16, recognized for early creative excellence in sculpture and puppetry.
1994–2001: Scholastic Gold Medalist & Top Portfolio Honors –
From childhood through high school, Indovina earned dozens of regional and national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, consistently recognized for her expressive visual storytelling in sculpture, drawing, and printmaking.
In her senior year, she was awarded the highest portfolio honor in Western Pennsylvania, distinguishing her as one of the region’s most promising young artists.
Select Articles and Images:
COMPUTER ARTS MAGAZINE / LIKE LIVING IN MY OWN CANVAS
MONKI FASHION MAGAZINE / SOULFUL ANIMATION