/lu:talika/
About
Studio Lutalica is a design and consultancy agency for feminists and queers, run by feminists and queers. But just because we’re proud of our identities, doesn’t mean we’re an exclusive club! We work with brands, organisations and individuals who share our commitment to improving the lives of women and LGBTQ+ people. Like the communities we represent, our work breaks down boundaries and challenges expectations.
Meet our team
they/them
Founder + Creative Director
Cecilia is an empathetic leader and a creative problem solver. They founded Studio Lutalica in 2020, bringing together their passion for design and social justice. Before founding Lutalica, Cecilia launched the magazine Vagina-nomics, managed web projects for Lattimore and Friends, and headed up marketing for LGBT+ youth charity Mosaic Trust as a volunteer.
🎓 BA Design Management and Cultures
🎓 MA Gender, Media and Culture
🏴 Edinburgh
she/her
Project Manager
Nathalie is fascinated by the social impact of design and technology. Her combined design and management background help her deliver projects smoothly and effectively. She enjoys the enriching qualities of teamwork and communicating with people from all backgrounds and specialisms.
🎓 BA Design Management and Cultures
🎓 MA Digital Media
🇬🇧 London
she/her
Communications Manager
Lily is passionate about language and overcoming obstacles through communication. She helps Lutalica, and a handful of other clients, connect with their audience. Having spent the first three years of her career as Marketing Lead for a fast-growing startup, Lily now principally works with social enterprises and small businesses.
🎓 BA (Hons) English and History of Art
🎓 MA Arts & Cultural Management
🏴 Edinburgh
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Business Development Executive
Lou is motivated by connecting with people and facilitating positive change. Before starting at Lutalica, they founded Goodstrangevibes, an art business with a focus on mental health, body image, LGBTQ+ topics and sex education. Multitalented, they bring creativity, energy and their experience in brand development to every project they work on.
🎓 BA in Politics, Psychology and Sociology
🇬🇧 London
she/her
Design Lead
Alaïs believes that a deep understanding of client needs shows itself in the finished work. That’s why she pays particular attention to research and discovery, which grounds her designs in wider narratives. Her portfolio encompasses a range of approaches and projects, but she has particular expertise in branding and web design.
🎓 BTS Graphic Design
🎓 MA Graphic Communication Design
🇬🇧 London
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Graphic Designer
Zoe is a self-starter who brings creative solutions to design projects. She has experience from a diverse range of sectors, including B2B, NGO’s and commercial projects. Zoe is particularly interested in the way audiences encounter and interact with the work she produces. She specialises in branding, web design and illustration.
🎓 BA Architecture
🇬🇧 London
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Junior Designer
Megan is a graphic designer, whose work spans a wide variety of mediums. Her work is research-orientated and highly considerate of the surrounding context. She is passionate about special causes such as women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ issues and climate change, and each of these themes are present in her portfolio.
🎓 BA Graphic Design
🇬🇧 London
she/her
UX/UI Designer
Federica is as passionate about product design as she is about creating digital experiences that are accessible and stimulating. She has a comprehensive understanding of user needs thanks to her background in both tech support and product design. Federica’s eagerness to create something new with every project, that will exceed user expectations, is apparent in her impressive portfolio.
🎓 BSc Product Design
🎓 MA Industrial Design
🇬🇧 London
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Technical Strategist + Developer
Sofiia approaches every project with a sense of curiosity. Unafraid of challenges, she keeps her skills up-to-date by attending regular professional development courses, and learning about the latest features in the world of web development. She specialises in front-end development, JavaScript and WordPress.
🎓 BA Law
🇨🇦 Toronto
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WordPress Developer
Nata specialises in front-end web development. She loves the immediacy of front-end dev; the way small changes in code can produce starkly different results. She also enjoys custom animation, and is currently developing skills in this area. Before the war in Ukraine, Nata really enjoyed travelling. But the events of 2022 forced her to change her priorities. She now has a greater appreciation for the present moment and the incredible capacity people have to adapt and care for one another.
🇺🇦 Lviv
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Webflow Developer
Lisa is a self-taught web developer who found their niche in web development, thanks to her natural problem-solving skills. They have a range of interests and have amassed knowledge in fields such as physics, astronomy and environmentalism alongside design and development, but all of this is off her own back. Lisa specialises in Webflow, accessibility and website performance. They especially welcome work from non-profit organisations and purpose-driven start-ups.
🇬🇪 Tbilisi
she/her
QA Engineer
Gloria is as perceptive about design technology as she is about people, and brings a wealth of experience from industries including energy, biotech and design. Gloria is passionate about mental health, and one day hopes to use her skills, resources and platform to join the fight to liberate LGBTQ+ persons in her country, and the rest of Africa.
🎓 BSc Computer Engineering
🇬🇭 Accra
Manifesto
Fighting for gender equality, diversity and inclusion isn’t a box-ticking exercise for us: it’s a priority.
Over the past two years, we’ve gathered a team of people who are committed to amplifying marginalised voices. 100% of our core team and 94% of our wider team identify as a woman and/or LGBTQ+, while 19% of our wider team are from ethnic minority groups.
We are challenging the status quo by providing bespoke services for underrepresented communities. We are motivated by our desire to challenge expectations and shift perceptions.
We have worked with twenty-five organisations whose primary purpose is to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people, giving them a space where they can confidently express their needs, and be understood.
We give creatives from the Feminist and Queer communities the chance to grow in a safe environment where their values will not be an obstacle to their success.
Studio Lutalica has given four recent design graduates and self-taught practitioners the chance to develop their skills, without compromising on our high standards.
Everyone at Studio Lutalica should feel like a solver, a helper, a changemaker. We are building a strong community of engaged people who are ready to make a difference.
Recent feedback from the team showed us that our collaborators feel ‘empowered’ and ‘valued.’ One staff member said that they have been ‘exceptionally supported to develop [their] skills,’ and another praised us for ‘making people feel included.’
We are a proud team of caring, strong, creative and open-minded professionals who share many of the same values; but freely acknowledge where we differ.
One of our regular freelancers said that they felt Lutalica has ‘created a sense of community where everyone matters.’ Another said ‘I feel listened to.’ Sometimes we disagree on particular issues. But we do so with honesty and respect, which tends to lead to productive compromises and mutual enrichment.
We respect the dignity of every human with all their differences. We believe that no one should be judged on the basis of their ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or class.
When it comes to hiring a new team member, the most important factors for us are that everyone believes in our mission and that someone’s portfolio meets our high standards (or evidences the potential to do so.) This is more important to us than where someone went to school or who they had an internship with.
We strive to do our best for clients, whether they’re a small business or an international charity, without compromising the wellbeing of our team.
One way we’ve upheld our commitment to staff wellbeing is by turning down clients who have had deadlines that would push our team beyond capacity and wouldn’t leave us enough time to recruit someone new. If you ‘need it done by yesterday’, it’s probably going to be a no from us.
Lutalica’s focus is on furthering gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights globally, and we can’t meet these objectives without environmental justice. We take responsibility for minimising our environmental impact in the day-to-day choices we make as a business.
The impact a client has on the environment is something we consider before starting any project. We have turned work down in the past if it conflicts with our environmental ethics, and we would do so again.
We are in a perpetual ‘learning phase’. Studio Lutalica are a team of experts in their field, but we don’t make the mistake of assuming we know everything. We value listening as much as speaking, and question our beliefs, whilst staying true to our principles.
We’re constantly reviewing and developing our organisational strategy, based on discussions with the core team. But our commitment to learning is continuous and can be seen in the open and flexible way approach we take to individual meetings and projects, alike. We are always testing new programmes, software and techniques.
We bring our ethics to the office. Studio Lutalica believes politics and identity can and should be part of the working environment.
When asked for open and honest feedback, every member of the team said they felt their values aligned with those of Lutalica’s. One team member expressed joy at not needing to ‘explain’ themself.