Gabriella Marcella is a Glasgow-based designer.
Born from an affection for hands-on production, Marcella founded RISOTTO; one of the UK’s leading risograph print specialists; renowned for their expert services to the creative community. Over the past decade, RISOTTO has grown to deliver international workshops and events, as well as produce their very own stationery collections that celebrate the power of small-scale, as a sustainable alternative to mass-produced paper goods. These unique and joyful products are where their notorious house style can be seen at its fullest. Stockists include Liberty London, Selfridges, and Paperchase.

The studio embodies Marcella’s love of colour and appetite for making. It is packed full of tools and materials that facilitate her design practice outside RISOTTO, where intuitive play, and active research are at the heart of every project.
Marcella’s design portfolio spans public art commissions, fashion collaborations and exhibition design. She has been commissioned by brands such as Apple, Puma and Pinterest, to create super-graphics that utilise pattern, typography and of course, jam-packed colour.
Her self-directed practice began when in residence at the Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands; a post-academic institute for research and production. Inspired by Friedrich Froebel; inventor of the kindergarten, Marcella has been exploring how creativity can be supported by defining constraints of material, colour and form. In 2019 she opened one of V&A Dundee’s best loved exhibitions; Rules Of Play. The installation explored the principles of play; a theme that is celebrated through all her outputs
For commissions, projects, or to say hello, please email hi@gabriellamarcella.com
Awards
- Circular Design, Zero Waste Scotland, 2016
- Visual Arts & Craft, Scottish Council, 2015
- £10,000 Creative Practice Start-Up, Deutsche Bank, 2012
Artist in Residence
- Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht (NL), 2018-2019
- Bothy Project, Isle of Eigg, 2017
Solo Exhibitions
- Rules of Play, V&A, Dundee, 2019
- RISOTTO’s Riso Room, Glasgow International, 2018
- Pehchaan, Art From Another India, Tramway, Glasgow, 2016
- RISOTTO’s Riso Room, South Block, Glasgow, 2016
- Super Signs, The Arches, Glasgow, 2015
- RISOTTO Print + Practice, Archizines, (IUAV) Venice, 2013
Group Shows
- Made In Glasgow Local Heroes, Glasgow, 2018
- This Will Ruin Everything, The Lighthouse, Glasgow, 2017
- India Street, Ahmedabad, India, 2017
- India Street, Tramway, Glasgow, 2016
- Local Heroes at Edinburgh Airport, 2016
- RISOMANIA, London, 2016
- Pick Me Up, Somerset House, London, 2015
Publications
- Colour and Pattern, Octopus Books, WIP, release date 2020
- étapes: 241: Design graphique & Culture visuelle, 2018
- Posterzine™ Issue 29 | Risotto Studio, 2018
- Risomania: The New Spirit of Printing, 2017
- Pressing Matters, White Duck Editions, 2017
- étapes: 232: European Creative Cities, 2016
- Becoming a Successful Graphic Designer, 2016
Workshops
- Here London, It’s Nice That, Royal Geographical Society, 2017
- Plana Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2017
- Torino Graphic Days, Turin, Italy, 2017
- Test Unit, Civic House, Glasgow, 2017
- Graphic Design Festival Scotland, Glasgow, 2015
SPEAKER + JURY
- Birmingham Design Festival, 2022
- V&A Platinum Jubilee Emblem Panel
- Creative Practice, Glasgow School of Art, 2021
- SHIFT summer School, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Royal College of Art, 2020
- University of the Arts Bremen, 2000
- In Conversation, Rules of Play, V&A, Dundee, 2019
- Wobby Wonderland, Tilburg, 2019
- Duplica!, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2017
- Pecha Kucha, The Lighthouse, Glasgow 2017
- Creative Mornings, White Space, Edinburgh, 2017
- Magical Riso Seminar, Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, 2016
SELECTED CLIENTS
- Apple
- Facebook
- Adobe
- Meta
- Puma
- Pinterest
- Buckingham Palace
- Agile City
- AMV BBDO
- Glasgow City Council
- Network Rail
- Glasgow International
- ItsNiceThat
- Jupiter Artland
- London College of Music
- Northern Monk
- National Theatre of Scotland
- Paynter
- Glasgow School of Art
- Bloomberg
- British Council
- Converse
- El Jimador
- Edinburgh Film House
- Great Ormond Street Hospital
- Jonathan Meese
- PULL&BEAR
- Redbull
- Stussy
- Away
- Domestika
- Dr Martens
- Urban Outfittersa