Area designer finds career at L.A. Times

Lots of things can happen over the course of 10 years.

A prime example can be found in Josh Penrod. Ten years ago, the Clover native had graduated from the University of South Carolina and was about to embark in a career in journalism. His first job was working on the design and copy desk of the Aiken Standard.

These days, Penrod is the senior sports designer at the Los Angeles Times. He's contributing to the look of the sports section for one of the largest daily newspapers in the world and working in a market that's as rich in sporting events as any.

"It was too big of an opportunity to pass up," said Penrod, who recently took the job in Los Angeles after working in a similar capacity for the past four years at The New York Times.

As the lead news designer in the sports department at The New York Times, Penrod cultivated coverage of major events, including three Olympic Games, a New York Giants' Super Bowl victory and a New York Yankees World Series championship. Through all of the major events and life changes, Penrod never forgot about Aiken.

"It was my first official full-time newspaper job," Penrod said of his time at the Aiken Standard, which he estimates was from October 2001 to February 2002. "The people in Aiken were good to me. They gave me a chance to jump in with both feet. I learned a lot. ... Aiken itself is a great town."

Following his stint in Aiken, Penrod worked for some of the larger newspapers in South Carolina. His next job was as the features designer at the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg. He left that to work as a sports designer at theState of Columbia.

"I did a little of everything," Penrod said. "News, features, sports."

He continued working in sports when he took a job as a designer at the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2004. He remained there for more than a year before moving to The New York Times. In addition to all his work in newspapers, Penrod has also branched out. He's taught as an adjunct professor at Fordham University in the Bronx. Additionally, he's moonlighted as the designer of a college football blog, Pre-Snap Read.

It's been a nomadic life for Penrod, who said there was a time when he never imagined living anywhere outside the South.

"I could live just about anywhere now," he said. "It's different, but I appreciate L.A. and New York for what it is. But I still miss the South. For me, Aiken will always have a special place in my heart. The people there let me stretch my legs, and I'll always be grateful."

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