2004 AIGA MEDAL
Through his editorship of Print Martin Fox created one
of the visual communication industry's most reliably high-quality,
accessible, and well-respected magazines. Its wide distribution,
combined with its intellectually and visually fulfilling content,
means that Print more than earns its tagline billing as
“America's Graphic Design Magazine.”
When Fox was growing up in the Bronx he wanted to be a
playwright, and he studied the art at Queen's Collage under the
theater critic and scholar John Gassner. In 1955, however, after
having served in the Korean War, Fox was sidetracked into the world
of publishing. He found his way to Print by chance, became
editor two years later, and stayed in that role for the next 40
years.
Despite his fascination with graphic design, Fox never
completely abandoned his earlier ambition, and has written several
plays. One of them, “Office Murders,” was produced Off-Broadway in
the late 1970's. Now that he is semi-retired and works for Print
only three days a week, in the role of Editor-at-Large, he is able
to devote more time to writing plays once again.
Over his four-decade-long association with Print, Fox's
editorial mission has focused on some primary objectives. One is to
counter the characterization prevalent in society at large that
graphic designers are decorative artists. Another goal is to
communicate important developments—not simply trends but
transforming changes in the design field that have been the result
of transforming changes in the culture. An admirable demonstration
of this last mission, is an issue of Print devoted to “The
Designer and the Computer,” published in 1966.
In addition to these content-driven goals, the 64-year-old
Print has developed some very high standards in the way it
presents itself. Editorially the magazine's voice is authoritative
and at times provocative, thanks to the involvement of some of the
most critically astute minds in the design community—Steven Heller,
Julie Lasky, and Rick Poynor among them. Visually the publication
emphasizes clear and quiet presentation of the featured work and
high quality production values over design excess.
The consistency of this approach and the accessibility it
affords means that the magazine is just as well respected beyond
the design community as it is within it. During Fox's tenure as its
editor, Print won the National Magazine Award for General
Excellence twice, in 1994 and 2002, and was nominated a further
five times in the category for small circulation magazines.
—
“Yes, it is beautiful, a visual celebration of the graphic arts.
A rich evocation of design, photography, advertising, and poster
art. But the stories make good reading too-provocative and
unpredictable. In all, the magazine delivers political, social,
cultural and historical insights about human culture here and
abroad. Print entertains us as it educates us.”
—Jurors of 1994 National Magazine Award
“ PRINT is the ultimate authority on all things
graphic. It presents what's new and good in visual communication,
from high-style to mass-market, plus commentary by the industry's
best minds. Print's design is just as it should be: boldly
handsome.”
—Jurors of 2002 National Magazine Award
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