Full-service experience design studio Luci Creative is thrilled to enter a new year and celebrate its tenth anniversary. Luci has spent the last decade helping the world’s leading cultural institutions and corporations cultivate relationships with their audiences. This Chicagoland agency was started by owners and partners Michael Shapiro and AJ Goehle.
“Michael and I are very proud of the team and company we have built over the past ten years. It’s because of our amazingly talented team, wonderful clients, and strong expert partners that Luci Creative has become the world-class design firm that it is.” says CEO & Partner, AJ Goehle.
The company started in 2011, with just a few employees including Shapiro, Goehle, and Executive Creative Director Kevin Snow. Since then, their team has expanded to almost 30 multidisciplinary creatives. In the past two years, Luci has seen its largest growth, increasing over 40% and adding strategists, designers, project managers, business development, and operations management to its team. In 2017 Luci Creative opened a second office in Boston, Massachusetts.
In addition to increasing staff size and adding an east coast office, Luci Creative finished construction on its new HQ studio in July 2020. The 6,500 square foot design studio features a multifunctional creative zone for development work, four project breakout rooms, a large modular conference area, and a hospitality space. While team members are currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this larger space gives Luci the ability for individuals or small groups to safely collaborate with clients, vendors, and sister-company Ravenswood Studio.
“We have the long-game in mind and are looking forward to welcoming back our team and clients to our new home later this year!” Shapiro says.
Although the pandemic has changed how Luci Creative works, it has not slowed the firm down. Goehle praises the strong and resilient team for quickly adapting to working from home and finding inventive and resourceful ways to collaborate and support clients virtually. Using platforms such as online customizable forms, private websites, and digital collaborative whiteboards, Luci’s projects have been able to move forward with rich collaboration and little disruption, as the firm continues to grow its client base.
As for the future? Shapiro and Goehle say that these first ten years are only the beginning.
“When we founded Luci Creative, our goal was to become a leading experience design firm for major companies and museums,” Shapiro says. “It’s amazing how far we’ve come in just ten years. I’m even more excited about where we are going.”
“Looking ahead, we want to expand what is possible for our clients, partnering with them to reach new levels of engagement,” Goehle offered. “We see how great experiences can energize the communities we serve, and we are growing to help more clients realize their future goals.”
