Luci Reimagines Museums with Imprint Experiences and New Brand Identity
Time is scarce, attention is fragmented, and entertainment is winning wallets, often at education’s expense. Today, Luci announced its commitment to help museums and brands convert limited attention into lasting impact.
The studio’s approach centers on developing imprint experiences: designing outcomes that shape visitors, how they see the world, and their place in it. Luci is dedicated to giving visitors agency, transforming them into participants, and activating all of their senses. Their work is informed by insights from behavioral science, psychology, and neuroscience.
Neuroscience shows that play strengthens encoding and recall, proving that education vs. entertainment is a false choice. Luci builds those mechanics: pacing, multi-sensory cues, and social interaction, into mission-driven content so experiences resonate on every level— physically, emotionally, intellectually—and are memorable long afterward.
“As institutions race to keep up, the winners won’t be the loudest. They’ll be the most memorable,” said AJ Goehle, Founder & CEO of Luci. “Experiences are the best platform for whole-body learning. We can activate every sense: bringing play into learning and feeling into visiting. Delight isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’; a requirement when you’re designing for outcomes.”
“Traditional exhibits and programming must adapt: spaces need to flex; content must respond to seasons, events, and shifting narratives,” said Matthew McNerney, Chief Creative Officer. “So we set aside preconceptions, and design for what our clients are truly trying to achieve: conversations, communities, compassion. That means designing experiences plus their support systems: content strategies, programming, staff enablement, and post-opening optimization.”
A visitor-first approach has guided Luci since its early projects, such as MSI’s Numbers in Nature, where guests navigated a mirror maze to experience the complex math of fractals firsthand rather than just read about them. “Meeting people where they are is our north star,” said Kevin Snow, Executive Creative Director. “When learning lands in your hands, head, and heart, it sticks.”
The rebrand follows sustained momentum for Luci, including a second appearance on the Inc. 5000 list with 73% growth over the past three years, with the firm’s continued delivery of work that resonates across diverse, multigenerational audiences.
“These experiences have ripples,” said Kiah Shapiro, Managing Director. “When they shape a visitor, those visitors go on to shape their communities, and those communities shape generations. Our job is to design for those ripple effects.”
BRAND REDESIGN
Luci collaborated with &Walsh, an award-winning women-owned creative agency in NYC, to reimagine our identity. &Walsh specializes in branding & advertising. They work with clients starting from the initial brand strategy phase to the design, art direction, and final production of a project. They believe in creating beautiful, emotion-driven work that functions for their clients’ goals and resonates with their audiences.
Jessica Walsh, their founder, notes: “It’s been such a joy working with AJ and the Luci team to create Luci’s new brand identity. Open a design history book and you’ll see that the industry has long been a boys’ club at the top, lacking diversity across both gender and race. That lack of representation can discourage underrepresented voices from pursuing creative careers, which is why it’s so meaningful to collaborate with leaders like AJ in this space. Seeing Luci recently named one of the fastest-growing companies in America is proof of the power of diverse leadership in shaping the future of creative businesses.”