Iconic & Orderable’s Content Marketer on creativity, deep work and inclusion in technology.
Growing up in a creative family, Gina Lucia had creativity and business embedded in her childhood. Although she now lives in Bristol in the UK, Lucia grew up in the West Midlands with two artist parents who explored sculpture, photography, painting and video. “They did this as a hobby and then turned it into a job by creating a graphic design business,” she says. However, Gina’s artistic vocation was more literary. “I grew up with that business and design mindset, and only translating it into the written word once I got to college and got a degree in creative writing.”
Lucia has spent the last decade working in technology, starting in the family business coding and designing websites for clients. Eventually, she pursued a solo career in freelance web design. “It wasn’t until website builders like Squarespace and Wix started to become more useful that I switched to content writing and finally put my Creative Writing degree to use,” she says.
She now brings her creative skills to the Liquid Web family as a contract content marketer with Iconic & Orderable. “I like to think of my role as translating technical language into something the average person can understand and handle. I write articles, documentation, emails, product descriptions, and more for both Iconic and Orderable,” she says.
Passionate about communication, it’s no surprise that one of the most attractive aspects of a job in technology is, for Lucia, how easy it is to talk to people. “People who work in technology understand what you mean or want to say on a technical level, and they pick it up much faster, too,” she says. “They are also not afraid to try new systems and techniques. Because technology moves so fast in general, people in technology are used to moving with it. So they’re less afraid to adapt.”
Books have played a fundamental role in Lucía’s professional and personal life. “I’m a book person,” she says. “Many of my work techniques or changes that I have made are due to them. But honestly, I would attribute my success to persistence and not giving up. When I was younger, I gave up on things very quickly. Violin, flute, bass – after just a few tries, I realized it was too hard and gave up. As an adult, I realized that things don’t work like that. On the internet, things move and happen so fast that you trick your mind into thinking it must happen for everyone. But it’s not like that. You have to work hard and keep going to achieve what you want.”
Lucía’s work style is deep work. “If you’ve ever read Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, then you know what I’m talking about,” she says. “If not, go read it! Deep work essentially means that you focus on a task without distractions of any kind. The technique sounds simple, but it’s not easy with all the distractions we have these days.” What that means for Lucia is grouping like-minded tasks together and doing them all in one deep work session. “By working this way, I get a lot done in a short time. Giving me more time to rest.”
For Lucia, progress is about balancing rest and growth. “I enjoy continually improving. Without that, I think I would feel demotivated. This doesn’t just relate to my work life,” she says. “I enjoy making small 1% improvements to almost everything in a gradual and sustainable way. There is nothing more rewarding than looking back on the year and seeing how much progress you have made without burning yourself out.
As for the future of women in tech, Lucia points out that there is still an unconscious bias in the tech world. “Although some progress has been made,” she says, “I feel like there needs to be a cultural shift. These biases result in institutional barriers that must be broken down. So I think we’re going to continue in the same direction. Eliminating progress while defending diversity.”
She also notes the importance of seeing more promotion of trans women in tech. “While many significant movements like Women in Tech could also advocate for trans women, you need to be more explicit on websites and marketing materials,” she says. “It has to be part of the conversation.”
Lucia believes that the best way to encourage more women to enter the field is for women in tech to speak openly about their experiences. “Young women want to see themselves in these roles,” she says. “If all they see is white men, it makes it that much harder.”
An avid reader, here are Lucia’s nonfiction book recommendations:
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown Brave Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani