Alta Journal has been named a Merit Winner in seven categories by the Society of Publication Designers, a body of art directors and designers from across the publishing industry. Since 1965, SPD has been devoted to celebrating outstanding work in design, photography, and illustration in print and, in recent years, on digital platforms.
Alta has been recognized for Design: Independent Publishing (Cover) for Issue 19, which featured an iconic photo of Joan Didion by the late Julian Wasser. In that same issue, the section Joan Didion: A Tribute was cited for Design: Independent Publishing (Story), and Philip Burke’s portrait of Didion received a nod for Illustration: Single/Spread.
The New Hollywood section in Issue 18 was recognized in the Design: Celebrity/Entertainment/Sports (Feature) category, and the Made in California section in Issue 21 was cited in the Design: Lifestyle/Travel/Food/Shelter (Feature) category.
Two of Alta’s illustrations were singled out by SPD’s judges. Thomas Ehretsmann’s portrait of M.F.K. Fisher, accompanying Jim Lewis’s “She Was Not a Food Writer” in Issue 21, was cited for Illustration: Single/Spread, and Victor Juhasz’s images accompanying Alta’s excerpt of Marianne Wiggins’s Properties of Thirst, in Issue 20, were cited for Illustration: Story.
In 2022, Alta received six Merit awards from SPD.•
