Martin Kahn

Martin Kahn is an artist and programmer with a background in mathematics and linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. He began working with computers in the early 1980s, first as a graphics programmer for North Star Computer and later for Broderbund Software. In 1981, he published Computer Imagery: A Coloring Book, a collection of black-and-white designs generated entirely through mathematical formulas. Written in North Star BASIC and printed on a NEC Spinwriter, the book rejected hand drawing altogether, offering an example of code as image-making. The preface of the book offers an early expression of Kahn’s belief in the computer as a tool for visual expression, written at a time when computer-generated imagery was still new and largely unexplored.

Kahn is best known as the co-creator of The Print Shop, 1984, the desktop publishing program that became a defining tool of early creative computing. Initially envisioned as a video greeting card system, the project shifted toward printed output during development, giving rise to a visual language that would soon appear on birthday cards, school banners, and flyers across North America. Kahn programmed the original Apple II version and went on to co-found Pixellite Software, where he also contributed to expanded graphics libraries that shaped the look and feel of later releases. Though widely pirated, The Print Shop sold over a million copies by 1988 and played a key role in bringing design tools into the hands of everyday users. Hidden on the reverse side of some Apple II disks, Kahn embedded a series of dynamic animations later known as “Martymations”, reflecting his continued interest in the visual possibilities of code.