Núria Balinha's Weekly Zines: A Graphic Designer's Uninhibited Practice

Graphic designer Núria Balinha produces zines at a prolific rate, nearly one per week, blending found imagery, collage, drawing, and distorted typography. Her self-described 'fragmented narratives' cover subjects from unattractive objects to the smell of urine in Barcelona and the World Cup, with one zine responding to Yoko Ono's 'Tunafish Sandwich Piece'. Balinha values audience interpretation, stating that even if some call the work 'stupid or nonsense,' she enjoys the freedom it allows. She draws inspiration from painters John Baldessari for humor, and Mark Rothko and Paul Gauguin for bold color, as well as a quote from Charli xcx about not overthinking. While she designs quickly and intuitively, each zine's content is heavily considered before she begins in InDesign. Many layouts address feminism, pop culture, social inequality, and personal experiences, with a particular interest in questioning how women are treated in art and design. Her zines include titles such as 'For u', 'What is This?', 'Gotta do it man', 'I know I am not supposed to go outside the lines', 'I ate', 'Cheugy', 'Everything, Nothing', 'Tear, Touch, Rub', 'Tortured Artist', and 'Prophetic Perfect Tense', all copyrighted 2026. The article was written by Ellis Tree for It's Nice That.