Richard Baker (Designer: Us, Life, Premiere, more)

SOUL SURVIVOR—Just about every magazine Richard Baker worked for has died. Even one called Life.Also dead: The Washington Post Magazine, Vibe, Premiere, and Parade. Another, Saveur, also died, but has recently been resurrected. And Us Magazine? A mere shadow of its former self.Sadly, Baker’s career narrative is not that uncommon. (That’s why you’re listening to a podcast called Print Is Dead). But Richard Baker is a survivor. He’s survived immigrating from Jamaica as a kid. He’s survived the sudden and premature loss of three influential and beloved mentors. And he survived a near-fatal medical emergency in the New York subway.Yet, in the face of all that carnage, Richard Baker just keeps going. To this day, he’s living the magazine dream—“classic edition”—as a designer at a sturdy newsstand publication (Inc. magazine), in a brick-and-mortar office (7 World Trade Center), working with real people, and making something beautiful with ink and paper.—This episode is made possible by our friends at Mountain Gazette, Commercial Type, and Freeport Press. A production of Magazeum LLC ©2021–2025