contemporary lynx
Art direction for an independent art publication — distributed in Tate Modern and beyond.
Editorial design · Art direction · Print
Contemporary Lynx is an independent international publication covering art, design, collecting, and photography, with a particular focus on Polish visual culture. I worked with the founding team from the beginning — designing the first six issues as the sole designer, helping establish the publication's visual language from scratch.
Each issue ran between 136 and 164 pages. The magazine grew in size across the six issues as the publication found its footing.
I was the only designer on the project — responsible for all layouts, art direction, and design across every issue. I worked closely with the editor-in-chief throughout, balancing the visual direction with what each piece of content needed.
The visual direction sat between traditional editorial design and something more expressive. The publication needed enough structural consistency to feel like a serious art magazine, but the layouts were treated with more freedom than a strict grid system would allow — deliberately uneven in places, with each article given its own visual treatment to suit the work being discussed and the authors behind it.
Working with art and photography content means the design has to know when to step back. The strongest pages are the ones where the layout serves the artwork rather than competing with it.
Six issues designed from launch. Contemporary Lynx is distributed in Tate Modern and across galleries, bookshops, and art spaces in Europe, Asia, and the US.
