Martin Falck's renegade, retina-searing designs for Dik Fagazine

Being easily entertained, especially by anything hinting at the phallic, it was Dik Fagazine that first really attracted us to the work of Martin Falck. On further investigation, however, it was clear that our attraction was not misguided: Martin’s design work for the publication is superb, and the story behind it fascinating . The publication is billed as the first and the only artistic magazine from Central and Eastern Europe concentrated on homosexuality and masculinity, making it something of an anomaly in an area where homophobia is still rife.

The magazine launched in 2005, but its founder Karol Radziszewski’s studio burned down in 2013, destroying a huge part of the Dik archive. However, it relaunched from the ashes last summer, which is when Martin was given the reins on the design front. His aesthetic has moved it away from the Butt-like look and feel of its predecessors (which you can see on this 2009 Dazed feature), and towards a more renegade, retina-searing design sensibility. The bright red and blue palette and uncompromising typeface feel deliciously loud and yet still relentlessly cool, making it a brilliant piece of design work to our still-burning eyes.