Work created for the Abilene history museum was recognized alongside some of the most respected names in editorial design and photography.
I am proud to share that my work for Frontier Texas has received three Gold Medals in the Society of Publication Designers 61st Annual Awards.
The awards recognize the 2025 Frontier Texas Annual Report in both design and photography. The cover portrait of reenactor William Reese received Gold for Design: Cover, Non Celebrity Profile and another Gold for Design: Independent Publishing, Cover. My portrait of Chief Broken Eagle received Gold for Photography: Feature, Profile, Non Celebrity, Single/Spread.
The Society of Publication Designers has recognized excellence in editorial design since 1965. This year’s competition honored the best work of 2025 across 90 categories, with winners including The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Texas Monthly, Fast Company, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Garden & Gun. I have long admired publications such as National Geographic and Texas Monthly for their photography and editorial design, so I am especially grateful to see work created for Frontier Texas in Abilene recognized among them.
I am also glad to bring the recognition to William Reese and Chief Broken Eagle, Ray Hernandez who give their time and knowledge to help people experience history as something more immediate than an artifact behind glass. Their clothing, equipment, interpretation and attention to detail help put a human face on the stories museums and historic sites are working to preserve.
People may first discover a historic place through a photograph, an article or a publication. Visual storytelling can give them a reason to make the drive, walk through the doors and begin asking questions. Once they arrive, it is the historians, interpreters, reenactors, volunteers and museum professionals who turn that interest into a connection with heritage tourism.
That is one of the many reasons I have continued to put so much of my own time into photographing Texas history and the people who keep it visible.
The report was created for Frontier Texas, Abilene’s history museum and visitor center. The museum tells the story of the Texas frontier through the people who lived it and serves as an important gateway for visitors exploring Abilene and the larger heritage tourism region of West Texas.
I am grateful to Frontier Texas for continuing to trust me with its story, and particularly to the people who step in front of my camera and allow me to document the history they work so hard to represent.
Awards
Gold Medal
Society of Publication Designers
Design: Cover, Non Celebrity Profile
William Reese
Frontier Texas, December 2025
Troy Myatt, Designer and Photographer
Gold Medal
Society of Publication Designers
Design: Independent Publishing, Cover
William Reese
Frontier Texas, December 2025
Troy Myatt, Designer and Photographer
Gold Medal
Society of Publication Designers
Photography: Feature, Profile, Non Celebrity, Single/Spread
Chief Broken Eagle
Frontier Texas, December 2025
Troy Myatt, Designer and Photographer