Krzysztof Lenk

Krzysztof Lenk (also known as Kris; July 21, 1936 – May 22, 2018) was a Polish graphic designer known as a specialist of visual communication, and a celebrated educator. During his career, he designed numerous magazines and publications, posters and book covers, diagrams and information maps; he was a professor of graphic design at Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Poland, and later at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the US; co-founder (with Paul Kahn) of Dynamic Diagrams, a firm specializing in information design, where he served as creative director between 1990 and 2001. Krzysztof Lenk shared his expertise through numerous lectures, workshops and conferences in many countries. He was an author and co-author of many books and articles. For his achievements he received an Honorary Doctorate Degree at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland, his alma mater.

Early years and education Krzysztof Lenk was born in 1936 in Warsaw, Poland. His early memories include time witnessing World War II. After the war he lived in Warsaw with his parents and later his wife and children throughout the first half of his life. He studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art and then at the Department of Graphic Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, where he graduated in 1961. After earning his degree, Lenk worked as a freelance artist designing books, book covers and posters. He travelled to Paris, where he worked for the Société Nouvelle d'Information et Publicité (SNIP) advertising agency (which later became TBWA ) and for the magazine Jeune Afrique. These experiences led him to discover his interest for design of information and narration, and steered his work toward magazines.

Back in Warsaw, in 1969 he designed a weekly magazine, Perspektywy, and maintained position as its art director until 1972. Between 1970 and 1981, he also art directed other magazines, such as Polish Art Review, Problemy, Ilustrowany Magazyn Turystyczny, Przeglad Techniczny, and Animafilm. During this time he also designed numerous books, albums and professional publications.

In 1973, Lenk started his career as an educator in Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, where he taught typography and design of periodicals in the Graphic Design department until 1982. During the academic year of 1979/80, he travelled on invitation to teach at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Over the course of those years he received an award from the Polish Ministry of Art and Culture for his educational excellence.

Since 2000, Krzysztof Lenk had also served as an advisor to Tellart, a Providence-based experience design firm founded by RISD alumni. Lenk was also an active member of American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).

Lenk devoted his final years to writing his memoirs. In 2018, he died of cancer at age 81 in Barrington, Rhode Island. He is survived by his wife, Ewa Zembrzuska Lenk (married in 1963) and their two children, Honorata and Jack.

Awards 1977 - Excellence in Teaching Design award from the Ministry of Culture and Art in Poland 1983 - IBM Fellow at the International Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado 2011 - A 'Silver Cane' recognition for excellence in teaching awarded by the Association of the Friends of Academy of Fine Art in Warsaw, Poland 2011 - Honorary Doctorate Degree from The Academy of Fine Art in Katowice, Poland

Publications Krzysztof Lenk, Paul Kahn (1997). "Krysztof Lenk and Paul Kahn: Dynamic Diagrams". In Richard Saul Wurman. Information Architects. New York: Graphis. pp. 190–201.

Paul Kahn, Krzysztof Lenk (2001). Mapping Web Sites. RotoVision SA.

Krszysztof Lenk (2009). Projects and Doodles / Projekty i bazgroly. Gdańsk, Poland: słowo/obraz teorytoria.

Krzysztof Lenk (2011). Krotkie teksty o sztuce projektowania. Gdańsk, Poland: słowo/obraz teorytoria.

Krzysztof Lenk (2010). Pokazać. Wyjaśnić. Prowadzić. / To show. To explain. To guide. Cieszyn, Poland: Śląski Zamek Sztuki i Przedsiębiorczości.

Krzysztof Lenk (2011). Typografia – Wystawa prac studentów programu typografii, Wykład "Słowa i teksty", Warsztat z typografii. Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu.

Krzysztof Lenk (2011). "Czarne na białyn, w ruchu…". In Przemek Dębowski and Jacek Mrowczyk. Widzieć/Wiedzieć, Wybór najważniejszych tekstów o dizajnie. Kraków, Poland: Karakter. pp. 429–435.

Krzysztof Lenk, Ewa Satelecka (2018). Podaj dalej: Dizajn, nauczanie, życie. Krzysztof Lenk w rozmowie z Ewą Satelecką. Kraków, Poland: Karakter.