Designing Ways

What Designing Ways does

Designing Ways is a South African design magazine published monthly by Nylapix (Pty) Ltd, covering architecture, interior design, product design, furniture, lighting, and design events. It serves a dual audience of design professionals and design enthusiasts in South Africa, with a distribution model that spans a WordPress-based website, digital editions, downloadable PDFs, and email newsletters, alongside its print subscription offering priced in South African Rand. The publication has maintained a consistent monthly cadence reaching Issue 303, indicating a long-running editorial operation with an accumulated archive and established brand presence in the local design trade.

The underlying technology stack is conventional content-publisher infrastructure built on WordPress, with no proprietary platform, no data products, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Distribution is multi-format and digital-first in delivery, but the editorial product is fundamentally a one-to-many magazine: Nylapix produces content and distributes it to subscribers and readers, monetised through subscription fees and advertising/sponsorship from design-trade brands such as V&A Waterfront, Corobrik, and Gearhouse SA. There is no evidence of a transactional marketplace, user-generated content layer, or platform-side two-sided network effect.

The business model is a hybrid subscription-plus-advertising model typical of niche consumer magazines. Recurring trade sponsorships and event-media partnerships (including SAIA Architecture Week, The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia, ORGATEC WORKSPACE Saudi Arabia, and FIND – Design Fair Asia 2025) appear to be a meaningful component of the monetisation mix, providing both revenue and brand-positioning benefits. The absence of disclosed financials, subscriber counts, or advertising-rate data limits the precision of any revenue assessment, but the operational footprint is consistent with a small, privately held, single-title publisher rather than a scaled media group.

Name

Designing Ways

Legal name

Nylapix (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://designingways.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Designing Ways is a South African monthly design magazine published by Nylapix (Pty) Ltd, covering architecture, interiors, product design, furniture, and lighting for design professionals and enthusiasts via print, digital, and newsletter channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Trade Publication

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Design magazine publishing
• Interior design content
• Architecture editorial
• Digital design publications
• Design industry news

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: Physical and digital magazine sales through subscription model. Issues are available as online digital editions and downloadable PDF editions. Subscription and distribution handled via [email protected].

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Designing Ways is a South African design magazine published monthly by Nylapix (Pty) Ltd, covering interior design, architecture, product design, furniture, lighting, and design industry events. Each issue is distributed through interactive online HTML editions, downloadable PDF editions, and print copies available via subscription. The publication also operates an email newsletter and a back-issues archive, serving both design professionals and design enthusiasts.

Product overview

Designing Ways is a digital-first design magazine published by Nylapix (Pty) Ltd, offering a portfolio of products centered on its core publication: monthly design magazine editions covering architecture, interiors, product design, furniture, lighting, and design industry news. Each edition is available in two formats—an interactive Online Edition (web-based HTML flipbook) and a downloadable PDF Edition—distributed through the main website and via subscription. The magazine is supplemented by a newsletter subscription service and an archive of back issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Designing Ways Magazine A monthly South African design magazine covering architecture, interior design, product design, furniture, lighting, and design events. Available in interactive online HTML editions and downloadable PDF editions, aimed at design professionals and design enthusiasts.
• Email Newsletter Subscription An email notification service that alerts subscribers when new magazine editions are released. Signup available via eepurl.com/dujNw1.
• Back Issues Archive An online archive of past Designing Ways magazine editions available for purchase or viewing, spanning issues from 2019 to the present.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• V&A WaterfrontminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue and sponsor for SAIA Architecture Week President Inauguration event.
• CorobrikminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing sponsor of SAIA and supporter of architectural profession in South Africa. Co-sponsored Architecture Week events and President Inauguration.
• Gearhouse SAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor for SAIA Architecture Week events.
• IID (Institute of Interior Design Professions)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe African Institute of The Interior Design Professions featured in publication content.
• KSA (Kitchen Specialists Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kitchen Specialists Association featured in publication content and trade coverage.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Habitat (Trusted Media Brands): A South African interior design and décor magazine serving the local design enthusiast market. Habitat is a direct regional peer to Designing Ways, sharing the same South African audience, design editorial focus, and advertising base, making it the closest geographic competitor.
• Design Indaba: A South African design publication and creative platform covering design, architecture, and creative industries. Comparable to Designing Ways as a regional design-focused media platform, though Design Indaba has a stronger events and creative-industry focus alongside editorial content.

Direct peers

• House & Garden (Condé Nast): A Condé Nast publication covering interior design, decoration, gardens, and lifestyle. Comparable to Designing Ways in editorial focus on interior design and decoration, with a similar premium homeowner and design enthusiast audience, though at significantly larger global scale.
• Wallpaper*: A leading international design, fashion, and lifestyle magazine covering architecture, interiors, and product design. Comparable to Designing Ways in editorial focus on design, architecture, and product discovery, though Wallpaper* operates at a global premium scale with a primarily English-language audience.
• Architectural Digest: Condé Nast's flagship architecture and interior design publication covering residential design, architecture, and celebrity homes. Comparable to Designing Ways as a design and architecture editorial publication, though Architectural Digest is a global mass-market media brand with vastly larger scale and reach.
• Interior Design Magazine (SANDOW Design Group): A leading trade publication for interior design professionals, covering projects, products, and industry news. Comparable to Designing Ways as a B2B-focused design publication serving interior designers and architects, though Interior Design operates at a larger U.S. trade publication scale.
• Azure Magazine: A Canadian design and architecture magazine covering contemporary architecture, interiors, products, and design ideas. Comparable to Designing Ways as a design trade publication with similar editorial coverage of architecture, interiors, and product design, with a comparable B2B/B2C audience mix.
• Dwell Magazine: An American architecture and design magazine covering modern residential design, products, and ideas. Comparable to Designing Ways in editorial focus on architecture, interior design, and product showcases, with a similar premium-design audience and advertiser profile.
• Indesign (Indesign Media): An Asia-Pacific design publication covering architecture, interiors, and design across the region. Directly comparable to Designing Ways as a regional design trade publication with a similar editorial mix of architecture, interiors, and product design, and a comparable B2B design professional audience.
• Dezeen: One of the world's most popular online design and architecture magazines, covering interior design, architecture, and product launches. Directly comparable to Designing Ways as a design-focused editorial publication serving design professionals and enthusiasts, though much larger and operating globally as a digital-first media brand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/designing-ways

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Designing Ways