Strategic communications for an ambitious built environment.
Studio IndexApproach
Most projects are decided before design begins; in the documents, narratives and positioning that shape how clients, juries, councils and institutions evaluate risk, capability and vision.
Studio Index works at that strategic layer. It takes the knowledge that sits inside design teams and turns it into clear, strategic documents that evaluators can understand, trust and support. The result: better alignment between a practice's real capabilities and the opportunities it wins.
We also work at the project level, partnering directly with design-led developers and consultant teams to shape the strategic and public narratives of significant projects.
We articulate design intent, public value, and long-term vision across planning, design review, awards, media, and stakeholder engagement.
Strategic Pillars
Research Rigour
PhD-level research skills applied to understanding client businesses, competitive landscapes, and tender requirements.
Industry Fluency
Native understanding of architectural discourse and design values unlike generic marketing firms.
Sustainability Expertise
Deep knowledge of climate-responsive practice, B-Corp frameworks, and sustainable development increasingly critical differentiators.
Strategic Counsel
Beyond writing we provide ongoing counsel on positioning, business development, and market opportunities.
Discretion
Understated, sophisticated support that delivers impact without fanfare.
Services
Services are delivered both at the practice level and at the project level.
Studio Index advises on positioning, narrative strategy, and the critical communications that determine project outcomes—from tenders and capability statements to awards, thought leadership, and public programmes.
The work is strategic first, written second: understanding what matters to evaluators, then crafting documents that speak directly to those concerns.
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Tender strategy and writing is our bread and butter. We advise on whether to pursue opportunities, how to position against competitors, and what narratives will resonate.
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Strategic narrative development for significant architectural and urban projects.
Studio Index works with developers and design teams to articulate a project’s underlying intent. This aligns architectural ambition with planning frameworks, design excellence processes, public communication, and long-term vision.
We support projects through early concept definition, council and design review, public-facing documentation, awards, exhibitions, and broader cultural positioning.
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Capability statements and credentials documents are how practices introduce themselves under pressure. Studio Index transforms your experience into clear, strategic narratives that win selection processes by answering what evaluators really want to know:
Can you deliver? Do you understand the challenge? Why should we choose you?
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We prepare award submissions and recognition campaigns that respect both the project and the program. That includes structuring arguments, writing project descriptions, and coordinating with your visual material so the work reads as clearly as it’s drawn.
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Studio Index develops long-term editorial strategies that position practices and principals as credible voices within architecture, design and the built environment.
Our work focuses on authorship: shaping ideas, refining arguments and placing considered writing within respected publications and platforms. This includes publication planning, contributed articles, op-eds, editorial essays and ghostwritten pieces that build authority over time.
The emphasis is not visibility for its own sake, but clarity and influence — ensuring the right audiences understand what you stand for, how you think, and why your work matters.
The goal is a shift in perception: from good practitioner to industry voice shaping how architecture and cities are discussed.
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Studio Index conceives and manages exhibitions, symposiums, launches, and public programmes that position practices as cultural leaders. From concept through delivery, we handle the thinking, narrative, and coordination.
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We write and refine speeches, keynotes, panels and op‑eds for principals and directors. The goal is not just to ‘sound polished’ but to sound like yourselves, at your sharpest, in rooms that matter. To boards, juries, communities and peers.
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A curated representation service connecting select architects and designers with clients seeking design expertise. This will launch later in 2026; expressions of interest are welcome from both sides.
About
Studio Index is a constellation of many distinct practices and projects, connected through a thoughtful, ordered way of seeing.
The studio sits across design, procurement, policy and public culture, helping practices organise and present their work so that it reads clearly to clients, juries and institutions.
Founded by Sophie Lanigan, Studio Index bridges the gap between design practice and the way decisions are made about projects, working with practices that care as much about clarity of presentation as quality of work.
Sophie holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Cambridge and brings research rigour, strategic thinking, and deep engagement with contemporary architectural practice to every project. Her background spans architectural research, media strategy, and in-house consulting for design practices.
As a Rothwell Research Associate at the University of Sydney, Sophie remains connected to emerging thinking about practice, sustainability, and cities. Perspective that directly informs how she works with clients.
Testimonials
Studio Index ties complex projects and ideas into coherent narratives that feel true to the practice and match the ambition of our new identity.
Huw Turner, Collins+Turner
Studio Index allows us to move quickly through tenders, awards and media, while still retaining the nuance and intent of our work. We can respond at pace, yet remain true to our sensibility and our own voice.
Eva-Marie Prineas, Studio Prineas
Studio Index helped to articulate where Atelier M is heading in language that feels clear and confident. Her strategic advice on positioning has sharpened how we present the practice to clients and collaborators.
Miriam Green, Atelier M