Production designer: History and Key Facts

A production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of a film and television story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the visual media's narrative, tone, setting, time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Working directly with the director, cinematographer, and producer, production designers have a key creative role in the creation of motion pictures and television.

Production designers are commonly confused with art directors, as the roles have similar responsibilities. Production designers decide the visual concept and deal with the many and varied logistics of filmmaking including, schedules, budgets, and staffing. Art directors head an art department, and manage the process of making the visuals, which is done by concept artists, graphic designers, set designers, costume designers, lighting designers, etc. The production designer and the art director lead a team of individuals to assist with the visual component of the film. Depending on the size of the production the rest of the team can include runners, graphic designers, drafts people, props makers, and set builders. Production designers create a framework for the visual aesthetic of a project and work in collaboration with the set decorator to execute the desired look.

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