Strategy + Brand Thinking
Translating early ideas into positioning, creative direction, products, stories and audience experiences.
Founder + Creative Technologist
Makiya
Lesley
Creative Strategist · IP, Product + Experience Developer · Creative Operations
Also known professionally as Lucy Laflare in music and select creative spaces, Makiya is a multidisciplinary creative technologist and strategist whose work spans original entertainment, world-building, music, products, digital experiences, immersive development and operations.
Her work sits at the intersection of idea development and execution—originating concepts, building the creative world around them, shaping the product or experience, and developing the systems, workflows and partnerships required to move the work forward.
The Creative Force Behind LuCre8z
A mind that has never
created in one direction.
Makiya Lesley—also known professionally as Lucy Laflare in music and select creative spaces—is the founder and creative force behind LuCre8z, a multidisciplinary company built from an ability to recognize the larger world surrounding an idea.
Her background spans creative direction, music and sonic development, storytelling, entertainment, product and brand development, digital products, technology, project development, operations, data, systems and immersive experience development.
She does not see creativity as a single deliverable or discipline. She sees the audience, story, sound, product, environment, technology, operational structure and future possibilities that may need to work together. That perspective allows her to move between imagination and implementation while protecting the original purpose of the idea.
Music as a Foundation
Sound was one of her
first creative languages.
For more than two decades, Makiya has worked through music as a producer, composer, educator, workshop leader and sonic storyteller. Her experience includes creating music, teaching others and exploring how sound can shape emotion, identity, movement and memory.
That foundation later expanded into film scoring, sound design, story development, animation concepts and multimedia production. Whether the work is a film, brand, animated world or physical experience, Makiya considers what audiences should hear and feel—not only what they should see.
Beyond One Medium
An idea can become
an entire ecosystem.
Makiya’s creative work has expanded across culinary concepts, consumer products, brand development, curated experiences, film, animation, fashion and emerging technology.
Through years of developing concepts and customer experiences, she learned that a brand is more than a name or logo. It can become a product, an atmosphere, a story, a community and something people experience through multiple senses.
That same thinking allows her to examine an early idea and identify its wider potential: who it serves, what it represents, what it can become, how people should experience it and what creative or commercial opportunities may exist around it.
What Makiya Brings
Creative range with
operational discipline.
Music + Sonic Storytelling
More than 20 years across production, composition, teaching, workshops, scoring and sound-led creativity.
Media + Worldbuilding
Experience across on-set production, scoring, editing, story development, animation concepts and multimedia.
Products + Consumer Experiences
Developing culinary, consumer, lifestyle and entertainment concepts beyond the visual identity alone.
Technology + Immersive Development
Creating guest journeys and interactive concepts that combine story, sound, environments and audience participation.
Creative Operations
Applying planning, documentation, workflow, coordination, process improvement and data-informed thinking.
Creativity With Structure
A powerful idea still
needs somewhere to go.
Makiya’s creative instincts are strengthened by professional experience in operations, project management, process improvement, data analysis and cross-functional environments.
She understands that ideas require documentation, timelines, workflows, budgets, partners, technical requirements, production plans and clear decisions if they are going to move beyond inspiration. Her ability to connect the creative and operational sides of a project is a defining part of the LuCre8z approach.
Building Worlds People Can Enter
The natural convergence
of her creative journey.
LuCre8z Immersive brings together the disciplines Makiya has developed throughout her life: storytelling, music, visual direction, products, technology, physical environments, audience psychology, operations and experience design.
Makiya originates and owns the intellectual property behind LuCre8z’s immersive concepts. She develops the premise, story world, audience journey, interaction framework and creative-product vision. She then identifies and assembles the specialized programmers, engineers, animators, technical artists, fabricators, audio professionals and production partners required to complete the technical execution.
Her role is not to claim every specialty. Her role is to see how the specialties must connect, protect the larger vision, ask the right questions and build a roadmap that gives an ambitious concept somewhere to go.
Creating More Than Projects
Building ideas with room
to grow beyond one format.
Makiya is building LuCre8z to become more than a creative-services company. The larger vision is to create original intellectual property, licensable products, immersive entertainment, educational experiences and meaningful worlds that can grow across media, technology and physical spaces.
For Makiya, creativity is not simply about producing something beautiful. It is about building something valuable, memorable and capable of creating new possibilities.
“I don’t just see the idea. I see the world that can be built around it—and the people needed to bring it to life.”
Professional context
Creative thinking.
Practical experience.
Core expertise
Creative Strategy · Creative Technology · Art Direction · Product Development · UX / Digital Experience · Brand Architecture · Web Experience · Original IP · Worldbuilding · Creative Operations · Immersive Development · Sonic / Music Development
Tools + technology
Adobe Creative Suite · Canva · Duda · Framer for selected client/prototype work · Unity · Notion · ChatGPT and AI-assisted creative/productivity tools
Tool choices follow the project; individual case studies identify specific platforms where confirmed.Certifications
Motion Certified Creative Strategist
Lean Six Sigma White Belt
Data Analysis with Excel
Power BI
Beyond independent concepts
Makiya’s professional background includes materials and manufacturing planning analysis with Vertiv, digital support with TTI, project coordination, and independent music and media development. That experience informs how she structures information, communicates requirements and connects creative work to operations.