The script says the family lives in a cramped flat above a laundrette. The production designer decides whether that flat is a real one on the third floor of an old building or a set in a studio with walls that come out for the camera. They also decide what colour the wallpaper is, how worn the carpet looks and what the view from the window says about the family. The production designer is the head of the art department and is responsible for the look of every space the audience sees.

What a production designer does

The production designer works for the director and the producer. They usually join early in pre-production, sometimes even before the money is complete, because the design choices decide how much building is needed. They read the script, talk through the visual world with the director, and make mood boards, sketches and later drawings and models of each set.

Then they lead the art department that turns those ideas into real rooms, streets and objects. The art director runs the day-to-day work, the construction manager builds, and the set decorator fills the spaces with furniture and detail. The production designer also works closely with the director of photography on colour, light and camera angles, and with the costume designer so that clothes and rooms belong to the same world.

Responsibilities

  • Develop the visual concept of the production with the director
  • Decide which scenes are built on a stage and which are shot on real locations
  • Produce sketches, drawings, models or 3D plans for each set
  • Hire and lead the art department, including art directors, decorators and props
  • Agree colour palettes and materials with the director of photography and costume designer
  • Approve sets before they are shot and adjust them when the schedule changes
  • Keep the design within the art department budget

How the role touches the budget

Directly. The art department is one of the larger lines below the line, and the production designer shapes it more than anyone. Every built set means timber, paint, labour and stage days, so a design choice is also a money choice. The production designer usually agrees a department budget with the line producer and then decides, together with the art director, where it goes. When a set grows, something else has to shrink.

How people become production designers

Many have a background in architecture, interior design, theatre design or fine art. Most then work their way up in the art department, as assistant, draughtsperson and art director, before designing a production of their own. Short films, music videos and smaller productions are often where the first credits come from.

In TV and commercials

On a long-running series the production designer creates the standing sets that are used for years, then designs new sets episode by episode on a tighter schedule. In commercials the role is often called art director or production designer interchangeably, and the job is shorter but just as detailed, often one or two sets that have to look perfect for a few seconds of screen time.