FRONT / TRIBUTE

dishevelled humour and all – check out the 2009 Webby Awards on YouTube. And yet, he described himself as shy.

Marcus had his detractors, but people pleasers don’t get shit done. Journalism is a toxic profession; I won’t forget a supportive lunch when we shared fellow career horrors. He was great at dispensing advice. I recall hearing him at one Milan dinner, coaching a couple, owners of a relatively young design brand, on how to manage their team right down to offering to call one employee himself, there and then, to put things right. Dezeen is a blockbuster success story, sure, but his legacy runs deeper than brand building. Marcus and his wife Rupinder together fostered an incredibly loyal close-knit team with long-standing members. Even those who flew the nest still boomerang back. That’s rare.

When some of us gathered, shockreeling, at Columbia Road’s Royal Oak back in July, I learned from his Dezeen family that when he sold Dezeen to Danish media company JP/Politiken Media Group in 2021 it wasn’t done without deep and long interrogation of their values and intentions – were they honourable enough to take his team and the brand into the future? I know it was a long process of letting go. He wasn’t just cashing in and clocking out, he really, really cared. He wore his humanity on his sleeve, flaws and all and I think that’s one of the reasons people loved him and why he achieved so much. Heartening in a world of fakes.

Marcus had a profound effect on others, he launched and nurtured careers and connected people. Some may misconstrue his love of awards, and although he basked in the glory like anyone, the genius was he also did it most passionately, for the team.

He leaves behind his much-loved family Rupinder Bhogal and his two children Jordi and Millie Fairs.

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TOP ICON won a string of awards including Launch of the Year and Designer of the Year in 2003 and Monthly Magazine of the Year in 2005 and 2006

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