Pitchfork is proud to announce that Senior Designer Chris Panicker has been chosen as a 2026 ASME Next Award honoree by the American Society of Magazine Editors, as part of the 2026 National Magazine Awards.
The organization notes that ASME Next is the “leading organization for early-career print and digital journalists. Members are freelancers and editorial staffers with no more than seven years of industry experience with titles such as editorial assistant, assistant editor, associate editor, digital editor, social media editor, video producer and corresponding titles in design and photography departments.”
Chris Panicker joined Pitchfork as Designer in 2023 before being promoted to Senior Designer at GQ and Pitchfork in 2025. He’s been integral to the look and feel of the site, from our Zines—including our Bladee, Turnstile, Oklou, and Dijon editions—and the colorful, unique motion graphics of our weekly Selects column.
In his nomination, GQ and Pitchfork Global Design Director Keir Novesky wrote, “Chris is a genuine anomaly in the media landscape. He consistently takes on projects that are difficult to execute under high-pressure deadlines, maintaining a calm demeanor and a contagiously positive attitude. From his rapid, almost daily production of boundary-pushing Pitchfork Selects designs, to crafting beautiful, hand-made typography for GQ’s most significant issue of the year, Chris has unequivocally solidified his reputation as one of the best designers in the media industry—and he is truly just getting started.”
The National Magazine Awards were established in 1966 to honor print (and, now, digital) publications that “consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy journalistic enterprise and imaginative art direction.” The awards are sponsored by ASME in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and are administered by ASME.
Pitchfork previously received National Magazine Award nominations in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024. In 2013, Pitchfork won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in Digital Media, and Senior Writer Alphonse Pierre won an ASME Next Award in 2025.
