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About

A studio built on conviction.

Motif was founded in 2016 by Lena Haupt and Marcus Webb on a simple hypothesis: the best work happens when strategy, design, and engineering sit in the same studio.

A small team in London, working with ambitious organisations across Europe and North America. We don't pitch, we don't roster. We take on a small number of projects each year and do them properly.

What we believe

Craft over convenience

Good enough isn't. We believe the details — the micro-interaction no one notices, the curve of a letter, the timing of a transition — add up to something people feel without knowing why.

Honest over agreeable

Our job is to make things better, not to make clients feel good about things as they are. We ask hard questions early because it's cheaper for everyone.

Partnership over delivery

We think in outcomes, not outputs. We're not a studio that disappears after handoff. We're invested in whether what we built actually worked.

Fewer things, done deeply

We take on 6–8 projects per year because depth beats breadth. Every project gets our full attention, not a corner of it.

The people

  • Lena Haupt

    Founding partner, creative director

    Previously at [Former agency] and [Former agency]. Eighteen years building brand systems for category-defining companies.

  • Marcus Webb

    Founding partner, technology director

    [Former big-tech] engineering lead. Believes technology should disappear and let humans shine.

  • Yuki Tanaka

    Head of product design

    Craft-obsessed designer with a psychology background. Former design lead at two category-defining consumer apps.

  • Adaeze Obi

    Head of strategy

    Strategist and brand consultant who spent a decade at [Former brand consultancy]. Most brand problems are positioning problems.

  • Theo Larsen

    Lead engineer

    Full-stack engineer specialising in Next.js and design-system infrastructure. Performance obsessive.

  • Sofia Méndez

    Senior brand designer

    Type, colour, and identity. Has designed for [Luxury conglomerate], [Global sportswear brand], and half a dozen startups.

  • James Okafor

    Motion designer

    Interaction and motion designer who started in character animation. Now applies those fundamentals to interfaces.

  • Nina Eriksson

    Client partner

    The person who makes big projects feel easy. Obsessed with clarity, timelines, and making sure clients feel heard.

Recognition

  • 2025

    [Design award] — Site of the Month

    Vellichor

  • 2025

    [Design award] — Digital Design

    Aura

  • 2024

    [Design award] — Best Innovation

    Kinetic

  • 2024

    [Design award] — Site of the Day

    Vellichor

  • 2023

    [Type award] — Certificate of Excellence

    Sonder Studio

  • 2022

    [Brand award] — Digital Identity

    Helix Labs

DemoUI kit preview — content is fictional.