Mark Cortes Favis
📝 ✏️ 🚀
Editing, writing and publishing – minus the existential dread.
Eight Decades of British Design
Design Council
2025
Ai Weiwei: Making Sense
The Design Museum
2023
The Fifteen Show
The Bartlett School of Architecture
2024
Ferrari: Under the Skin
Phaidon x The Design Museum
2017
Waste Age: What Can Design Do?
The Design Museum
2021
California: Designing Freedom
Phaidon x The Design Museum
2017
About
Words matter. Let’s get them right.
Editing. Writing. Publishing strategy. If it involves words on a page (or screen), I make them clearer, sharper and worth reading. I help authors, publishers and cultural institutions transform unruly drafts into polished, engaging reads – without losing their soul (or their sanity). Whether it’s a book, an exhibition catalogue or an academic text in need of a glow-up, I bring structure and clarity, striking the perfect balance between encouragement and (gentle) ruthlessness.
Why work with me?
For over 15 years, I’ve worked with some of the UK’s leading cultural institutions, including the Design Council, The Bartlett School of Architecture and the Jencks Foundation at the Cosmic House. In 2015, I established and ran the Design Museum's publishing programme for eight years. My editorial projects have been featured in The New York Times, Flaunt Magazine, The Guardian, BBC Radio 4 and – most prestigiously – the in-flight magazine for British Airways (lol).
Though I’m London-based, I carry a shiny blue passport – which means that, as an American, I can work directly with US-based clients, dance across time zones and meet in person during my regular visits to California, Chicago or New York.
So if you need a seasoned editor, project manager or publishing consultant who can bring out the best in your words (and isn’t afraid to wrestle a messy manuscript into submission, let alone publication), let’s talk.
What I do
Publishing & Editorial Consulting
Shaping strategies and creating books that land in bookshops and on shelves alike.
Editorial Project Management
Keeping writers, editors, designers and deadlines in sync.
Editing & Book Development
From structural overhauls to fine-tuned copyediting, I make words work harder.
Exhibition & Catalogue Editing
Making words work – from catalogues to wall panels and captions.
A deep-tissue massage for your manuscript • Sharpening stories & strengthening sentences • Stopping bad publishing decisions in their tracks • Good design deserves great words – and a publishing plan that won’t make you cry •
Publishing & Editorial Consulting
Helping organisations navigate the publishing world.
Shaping books that belong on shelves – and aren’t afraid to take up space.
Editorial Project Management
Keeping the editorial ship afloat – without the chaos.
Coordinating writers, editors, designers and printers to bring your publication to life.
Editing & Book Development
Transforming ideas into books worth reading.
From structural overhauls to fine-tuned copyediting, I make words work harder.
Exhibition & Catalogue Editing
Words that work in print and on the gallery wall.
From exhibition panels to catalogues, I make sure the text earns its keep.
Work
A greatest hits collection – but for books • From manuscript mayhem to publishing perfection • Edited, polished, published – but never forgotten •
Eight Decades of British Design
2025
Editor, Contributing Author
Design Council
Editor and contributor for the Design Council’s landmark 80th anniversary book.
Ai Weiwei: Making Sense
2023
Project Editor, Art Direction
The Design Museum
Project editor and art direction for Ai Weiwei: Making Sense at the Design Museum.
The Fifteen Show
2024
Interpretation Editor
The Bartlett School of Architecture
Editorial and visual lead for The Bartlett School of Architecture’s Fifteen Show, spanning text and graphics.
Ferrari: Under the Skin
2017
Project Editor, Art Direction
Phaidon x The Design Museum
Editorial and art direction lead for the Design Museum’s Ferrari book, published with Phaidon.
Waste Age: What Can Design Do?
2021
Commissioning Editor
The Design Museum
Commissioning editor for the Design Museum’s 2021 book on design and waste culture.
California: Designing Freedom
2017
Project Editor
Phaidon x The Design Museum
Editorial lead for California: Designing Freedom, from content development to image strategy.