Graphic Prop Maker for Film and TV
I HEART NY & MILTON GLASER This is the classic “I Heart NY” design by the great Milton Glaser. Born in 1929, Glaser was an American graphic designer, who’s creations include the I Heart New York logo, the psychedelic Bob Dylan poster and the logos …
Wonder Woman’s AMBROTYPE Photograph This is the photograph printed on glass, that was used in Wonder Woman (2017). Taken during a scene set in 1918, this style of photograph mimics the collodion or wet plate process, an early photographic method requiring glass to be coated, sensitized, exposed and developed …
MISS CATHERINE ELAINE STEWART’S PASSPORT (1933) This is my Great Grandmother’s passport (on my Mum’s side) from 1933. Miss Catherine Elaine Stewart, who proffered to be known by her middle name Elaine, was born on 27th June 1911. Sadly, I never knew her as she …
DESIGN PROCESS OF: THE HUB MAGAZINE LOGO HUB Magazine is the official University of the West of England (UWE) student magazine. I had already been Head Designer of HUB for 2 years before this rename and rebrand in 2019. Having now graduated my 3rd and …
AUTOMAT BY EDWARD HOPPER Painted by Edward Hopper in 1927, ‘Automat’ is my joint favourite painting of all time along with ‘Swinging’ by Wassily Kandinsky. Automat is a medium sized painting 28 x 36 inches (71.4cm x 91.4cm) and first displayed on Valentine’s Day …
RIVER SONG’S DIARY British graphic props don’t get much more iconic than River Song’s Diary from Doctor Who. Designed in 2008 for River Song’s first episode “Silence in the Library” and subsequently featured in a storyline that would span 3 Doctors, no one could …
MONICA’S PHOTOS (1930 – 1970) These are part of a huge collection of old photographs from my Great-Great Aunt Monica. My great-grandfather on my mother’s side had a half-sister called Monica and who died in 2014. I sadly never met Monica but she was the …
THE PROCESS OF: CREATING MY GRADUATION PHOTO Yesterday I finally got my results and I’m proud to say I’ll be graduating with a 2.1 honours degree in Graphic Design! My time at UWE, Bristol has been amazing and I’m very, very, happy. The last 3 …
PURPLE FACE & ORANGE FIGURE BY JOHN NICOLL This is a painting of a face and figure by professional artist (and my Grandpa) John Nicoll. It was part of John’s colourful faces phase back in the late ‘80s / early ‘90s. He sometimes painted them …
PEPPY’S POSTERS & MAGAZINES FROM ‘THE ARTIST’ These graphics are from the film, “The Artist” (2011). The movie was shot in black and white and set in the late 1920s / early 1930s. We follow the story of Peppy Miller, a film-going fan who falls …
LONDON UNDERGROUND MAP (1941) This is a well-used map of the London Underground from 1941. It came from my Great-Grandmother’s house a few years ago and I love the feel of the old, soft, uncoated stock from the era. We spent lots of time going …
FILMING PROCESS OF: ELIZA’S EPHEMERA This is a behind the scenes look at the process of filming and editing my video of Eliza’s ephemera. This was the final stage of my 4th self-written brief from my last semester of university that was earlier this year. …
FILMING PROCESS OF: AMELIA – A STORY TOLD WITH GRAPHIC PROPS This is a behind the scenes look at the process of filming and editing my short film, “Amelia: A story told with graphic props.” This was the final stage of my 2nd self-written brief …
DODIE’S YOU ALBUM COVER This album cover is from the second album by dodie. Dodie Clark is a singer-songwriter and musician from South East England who began her career on Youtube in 2011, posting original songs and covers. I started following her in 2014 and …
THE MINIMALISM OF OH WONDER ALBUM COVERS Oh Wonder are a singing-songwriting duo from London. Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West together have written 3 albums since they started out together in 2014. They’re now internationally successful and both singer’s voices blend really wonderfully together. …
THE LITTLE WOMEN GRAPHIC Prop BLUNDER Today’s post isn’t going to be an overly positive one but it will be interesting. Please be assured this will be a rare occurrence on my blog. I just felt I had to say something and not let this …
THE WONDERFUL GRAPHIC PROPS OF LITTLE WOMEN There are many wonderful graphic props in Little Women and I want to take a closer look at 5 of them today. If you haven’t seen the film yet, what have you been doing since lockdown!? Go and …
PRINCESS ALICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (1843 – 1878) CDV This Carte de visite is of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. If you unsure as to what a Carte de visite is, you can check out my previous post: “What is a Carte de …
WHAT IS A CATRE DE VISITE? These photos are of some carte de visite from my own collection. Carte de visite (CDV) was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854. Carte de visite were made of a …
3 THINGS I’LL TAKE AWAY FROM MY UWE GRAPHIC DESIGN COURSE Having just finished my B/A Hons degree at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Graphic Design, I thought I’d share 3 things I’ll take away from my course after 3 years …
A BOOK OF GHOSTS WRITTEN BY PAM ADAMS ILLUSTRATED BY CERI JONES This die-cut book is a simple but effective use of die cut shapes on paper revealing things behind to tell a story. It was published in 1974 and I think it still holds …
THE MARAUDER’S MAP This is the iconic Marauder’s Map from the Harry Potter films. It was hand drawn by the marvellous Miraphora Mina, one half of MinaLima, the graphic designers of the Harry Potter and now Fantastic Beasts films too. I’ve met Miraphora Mina and …
WHAT IS A “WOMAN’S PICTURE?” (1932 FILM FEMINISM) “To be a “woman’s picture” a film must have characters who are recognisable human beings.” The following is an opening article from a copy of Film Weekly magazine published on Friday 8th July 1932. Film Weekly was a …
DESIGN PROCESS OF: A CHARCOAL DRAWING, REY This is a charcoal drawing of Rey from Star Wars The Force Awakens which I drew in 2017 and I’m still quite proud of it. These photos are 4 development images that I took during the process of …
SWINGING BY WASSILY KANDINSKY “There is no must in art because art is free.” – Wassily Kandinsky This will be quite a short post today as I would prefer you just looked at this masterpiece rather than listened to me ramble on for too long. …
ENCHANTMENT UNDER THE SEA POSTER (1985… OR IS IT 1955…?) This is the school dance poster from the 1985 film Back to the Future. This fun and slightly naive school poster was most likely designed by Al Gaynor, the “graphic artist / scenic artist” …
hIGHGATE TO CROUCH END RAILWAY TICKET (1916) This is a third class, over ground, railway ticket from Highgate to Crouch End in London. It’s stamped on the back with “9MY16” which is the day month and year of issue (9th May 1916). G.N.R. (Great Northern …
DESIGN PROCESS OF: A WHITE CARD MAQUETTE OF A 1954 LONDON FLAT I decided to make a white card maquette for the first project of my final semester of university. I called it “Set Up” and project 1/7 and it involved designing a 1950s flat …
THE CASABLANCA FILM POSTER & THE DESIGNER BILL GOLD In my opinion the Casablanca movie poster is one of the greatest movie posters of all time. Designed by Bill Gold for the 1942 film, it is one of Hollywood’s most memorable posters. It’s a masterpiece …
THE WEASLEY’S BETTING SLIPS These betting slips feature in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and are issued by the Weasley twins during the Tri Wizard Tournament for other students to bet with. They were designed by the fabulous Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima …
FATHER DYING, TRY TO COME TELEGRAM (1922) “Father dying try to come if possible, Marguerite” What a dreadful message to receive. I acquired this in late 2019 and although it’s very dramatic and sad, this telegram is a great example of how this form …