Nicole Mason on making creativity accessible through Palette

Nicole Mason’s path from wedding photographer to founder of Palette reflects a philosophy she’s carried throughout her career: design should serve a purpose while remaining accessible to the greatest number of people. After running a daylight rental studio in Portland for three years, the pandemic forced Mason to reimagine how she could contribute to the creative community. The result was Palette, a digital space offering thoughtfully designed mockups and workflow tools informed by both her photography practice and the principles of Charles and Ray Eames. Her toolkit for photographers adopts the same form-meets-function approach to shot lists and call sheets, solving common pain points with minimal, polished templates that cater to visual thinkers. In this chat, Mason traces her journey from shooting weddings at 19 to building a product line, shares how her 96-year-old artist grandmother shaped her creative outlook, and explains why she believes good design changes the way we work and live. TBI: Hey Nicole, how’s things? NM: Hey! Things are good :) a lot of changes lately, but that’s what life’s all about. I’ve recently moved into a new photo studio/workspace closer to the ocean, and I’ve been fostering a rescue pup!