Our tribute to Marcus Fairs

The sudden death of Marcus Fairs, editor of Dezeen, has shocked the design and architecture communities and also his peers, colleagues and former colleagues in design communication at IBP.

Marcus founded Dezeen in 2006, making it one of the first design-focused digital publications and helping transform how many viewed and found out about design and architecture news. He had previously been a reporter for Building Design and was the first editor of Icon. Throughout his career, he won numerous awards, including being a regular award winner with IBP.

Harriett Hindmarsh, chair of IBP, wrote:

“Marcus was a friend and a colleague. Our world will be poorer without him. I worked with Marcus from the my first days in this industry, and he was always intelligent, challenging, competitive, ambitious and huge, huge fun. I remember many evenings spent laughing with him and I will miss him enormously. At a time when IBP is moving towards a new and exciting future, one that Marcus contributed to, it is sad that he will not be able to join us on that journey.”

Tom Broughton, president of IBP and managing director of Assemble Media Group, said:

“We are deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Marcus’s passing. He was an exceptional journalist and editor who began his early career in architectural journalism working on Building Design and who also made a major contribution to Building as a pioneering features editor.

“We’ll remember him for his stream of exciting ideas, unrivalled networking abilities, energy, infectious enthusiasm and, of course, for Dezeen, which he turned into a major success through his tenacity, creativity, and dedication.

“Our colleague Marcus was always challenging, always tough, always edgy, but always smiling and laughing too. He brought an unrivalled dynamism to the group – and none more so than we were on our off-site trips abroad or when he played in goal for our five-a-side football team and was diving around like he was playing in a World Cup final. Marcus was not only competitive; he was a force for good for the design community. Marcus will be sorely missed.”

Emily Booth, editor of The Architects’ Journal and a member of the IBP board, said:

“Marcus’s influence on the design media landscape was immense. He worked with vision and flair to broaden news, understanding, and engagement with and about all aspects of architecture and design. He brought the global design community closer together and his loss will be felt keenly.”

Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright, another IBP award winner, wrote on Twitter:

“Terribly sad, shocking news. Marcus changed online publishing as we know it and was always a mischievous, provocative presence in the design world.”

See more tributes to Marcus on Dezeen.