L+L is the design studio of Leigh Mignogna and Liz Turow based in Brooklyn, NY. Since 2014, L+L has worked with clients in arts and culture, tech, retail and hospitality, and mission-driven non-profit spaces to create brand identities as well as print and digital materials. Their clients include Google, MoMA, Red Hook Initiative, UPenn Center for Social Impact Strategy, the NYC Mayor’s Office for Criminal Justice, TransitCenter, and NYU Langone Medical Center.   

1. How did you start doing design work?

We met in graduate school at Pratt Institute in 2011 and first collaborated there. We had each come from undergraduate studies in humanities, so our interests have always cast a wider net than just design. But both of us grew up with dads who were designers, so the inclination towards visual creativity has been there for both of us from the start.

2. How would you describe your practice?

We use the word ‘multidisciplinary’ to describe our work, which feels a bit like a buzzword, but what it means to us is that we’re not specialized in one platform, style or agenda. We’ve been fortunate to work on all different kinds of projects, including websites, exhibitions, books, apps, campaigns, and brand identities. We also both teach at Pratt, and that pedagogical thinking informs our approach and interests inside the studio. 

3. What was the most important takeaway you learned from the project?

One thing we’ve learned from working with CUP is the importance of involving the communities you’re designing for in your process. Understanding your audience’s needs and frame of reference is key to designing something that is useful and impactful. 

4. How did working with CUP impact your work moving forward?

Our first project with CUP was right when we were new as a studio. It showed us that we had a real interest in taking complex information and making it accessible and useful to people whose lives stand to be improved by that information. Since then, we’ve continued to pursue that kind of work, and intentionally maintained a balance of for-profit and mission-driven clients as a result.  

5. What is your secret skill that has nothing to do with your design work?

Playlist curation (follow L+L Hits volumes 1–7 on Spotify!)