The story
How an art director ended up running the studio.
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Tara started at Copper Fish as an art director. Agency work: concepts, layouts, production, and clients who needed it finished by a date.
ATCO was a bigger organisation and a different kind of job. She led the in-house creative team, which meant brand standards, templates, and getting a lot of people to use them the same way.
After ATCO she consulted independently and started a non-profit that organised events in Canada and Wales. Booking venues, building a programme and filling a room turned out to be useful practice for running a company. From 2018 to 2024 she also ran the Calgary chapter of Startup Grind.
In 2019 she co-founded Paper Crane. She is the CEO and also the acting art director, so the creative work still goes through her before it ships. In 2025 she joined the advisory board of the YYC Data Society.
I learned more about clients from running events than from any agency job.
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Career
The jobs, in order
- —
Art Director
Copper Fish
Concepting, art direction and production for agency clients. Deadlines were fixed and budgets were not generous, which is where she learned to defend an idea.
- —
Creative lead
ATCO · In-house creative room
Leading an in-house creative team inside a large company. Most of the work was standards and systems, so that hundreds of people could produce on-brand material without a designer in the room.
- —
Creative consultant
Independent
Independent creative direction for a mix of clients, alongside the non-profit.
- —
Founder
Non-profit · Events across Canada and Wales
A non-profit that organised events in Canada and Wales: programming, partners, venues, tickets.
- 2018–2024
Chapter Director
Startup Grind Calgary
Six years running the Calgary chapter of Startup Grind: monthly events, speakers, sponsors and a room full of founders.
- 2019
Co-founder, CEO and acting Art Directornow
Paper Crane · Calgary and Vancouver
Co-founded in 2019, with offices in Calgary and Vancouver. Tara is CEO and acting art director. Paper Crane does brand, web and software work for growing companies.
- 2025
Advisory Board member
YYC Data Society
Joined the advisory board of the YYC Data Society in 2025.
I still pick the typeface.
Tara Collinsplaceholder copy
