Edmund Arnold

Who was Edmund Arnold?

Edmund C. Arnold was a newspaper designer, considered by many to be the father of modern newspaper design. As a newspaper consultant, he designed more than a thousand newspapers including the Boston Globe, National Observer, Today, Toronto Star, The Kansas City Star, and many small weeklies. He also worked as the Editor of The Linotype News, and as a columnist for Publisher's Auxiliary.

Arnold was born on June 25, 1913, in Bay City, Michigan, the son of Ferdinand M. and Anna I. Arnold. As a small boy the family moved to Saginaw, Michigan. Edmund's only brother, Robert, drowned in the Saginaw Bay in a boating accident in 1938 at the age of 19.

In addition to his newspaper work, Arnold was an educator. He was the chairman of the Graphic Arts and Publishing Departments at the School of Journalism at Syracuse University and taught as a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a charter member of the Society for News Design. He wrote over 25 books including the Ink on Paper, Ink on Paper 2, and Modern Newspaper Design.

Arnold was honored with SND's lifetime achievement award in 2000. When describing the state of news design in an interview at the time he was honored, Arnold said: