About

With a solid background in both photography and graphic design, I have over 15 years of experience as an art director with a specific focus on magazine and newspaper design.
Working from Madrid & Amsterdam, I collaborate with a large pool of acclaimed illustrators and photographers. My work is characterized by its conceptual originality and attention to detail.

Lucas van Esch standing in front of a Baptiste Laurent painting in Chueca, Madrid

Lucas (on the right)

Bachelor in Photography, Royal Academy of Art,
The Hague (The Netherlands)
Master in Arts (Graphic Design and Advertising), Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp (Belgium)
Recent clients include DPG Media, de Volkskrant, Editorial Planeta, Urano World, and more

Painting courtesy of Baptiste Laurent

“Lucas’ criticism is justified and constructive, and the way he always strives for perfection honestly brings out the best in people.”
— Leonie Bos, illustrator

Awards

2021 World’s Best Designed Newspaper (SND)
2020 European Newspaper of the Year (ENA)
2013 European Newspaper of the Year (ENA)
Numerous European Newspaper Awards
Numerous Awards of Excellence in several SND competitions

“Lucas is a focused, gentle professional in his field and has deep knowledge of typography and design. ”
— Luis Mendo, illustrator

Languages

Fluent in English, Spanish and Dutch, basic French

“Staying on the safe side isn’t an option. Lucas is extremely creative. Also a great storyteller and conceptualizer.”
— Tahirah Salomon, Head of Design FD

Interviews

A chat with fellow creative Ruben Stelli for his Creatiedrift podcast (in Dutch)
A chat with Fontanel for their series of talks
with Dutch creatives (in English)

“Lucas is a very original and intelligent designer. His skills are more of a conceptual nature than you would expect from a designer or art director.”
— Rick Vintage, NLXL

Kudos

Apart from the work in the Personal section, most of the images shown on this website are the result of teamwork and would not have existed without the efforts of the talented illustrators, photographers, designers, type designers and picture editors I was lucky enough to work with. Thank you!