Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
Success Stories
by
Studio Lutalica
Welcome to our new mini Journal series, Success Stories! In this series, we'll share stories of how good design works to make real-world change happen. Think of them as bite-sized reads. Something short, sweet, and inspiring. Who knows? Maybe they'll even spark a new idea for you, too.
In the summer of 2024, with only a week's notice, an icon of London's LGBTQ+ nightlife was at risk of being sold off. For over 100 years, Bethnal Green Working Men's Club (BGWMC) has been a vital community space, and suddenly, it was facing a make-or-break moment.
"We were a group of volunteers under extraordinary pressure," explains Nick Keegan, a key organiser of the campaign to save the venue. The challenge was immense: to rally a community and launch a credible fundraising campaign in a matter of days.
Studio Lutalica was brought in to build the campaign's visual identity: "The collaborative process was vital," says Nick. "We relied heavily on the Studio Lutalica team to guide us."
The design was rooted in the energy of the initial community rally, and the result was a brand that felt both unique and familiar: "Georgey [from the Lutalica team] was fantastic at capturing the energy... and had a real understanding of the vibe that was appealing to our community."
The impact was immediate. The new branding provided "confidence to a wider community that the campaign was organised and credible." This was vital for building the initial trust needed for fundraising success. Online, there was a wave of excitement, with people from both London and further afield investing their time and energy into the campaign.
This credibility translated directly into financial results, with over 500 people stepping in to support the campaign, which raised close to £20,000. But the impact of the campaign travelled so much further. Its success has sparked broader, crucial conversations about the preservation of queer cultural spaces, with the group being invited to speak in Parliament and at national conferences.
For Nick, the key to the campaign's success was authentic collaboration. "Lutalica were incredibly flexible, attentive, and supportive of us as a brand new campaign group," he says.
His advice to other organisations facing a similar crisis? "Don't wait for someone else to do it. It will be challenging... but there will be many other people and organisations willing to help and support in the same way that Studio Lutalica did for BGWMC."
