Building Brands for Movies with Annie Atkins

Have you ever wondered who does the design work for the fictional worlds that we see in films or TV programs? You know, the old fashioned letters, or a historical telegram, or maybe a brand for a business, or packaging for products. Today on the podcast it is such a treat for me to chat to Annie Atkins.

Annie is a designer and prop maker for film and television, and she is particularly known for her work on various Wes Anderson films, including the Grand Budapest Hotel. We chat about how Annie struggled creating brands when she worked for an advertising agency, but how she got good at it when designing fictional brands for film.

We talk about how she has diversified her income, the things that went wrong in her work, and the Reddit threads dedicated to that, and also how Annie Annie had planned to give up her career in graphic design, but then almost accidentally stumbled across this area of design that she loves. I had so much fun chatting to Annie, and I think you're really going to enjoy this episode, but I would love to hear what you think, so come and find me on Instagram, I'm always there at @LizMMosley, or I recently have started an Instagram for the podcast, which is @buildingyourbrandpodcast. So come and let me know on either of those, what you thought of the episode, and I hope you enjoy it.

Episode highlights:

02:50 Annie's Journey into Film Design

07:54 Challenges and Learning in Design

10:11 The Impact of AI on Design

19:17 Creating Fictional Brands for Film

23:56 Embracing Familiarity Over Originality in Film

25:13 Dealing with Criticism and Mistakes

Thanks to Studio Cotton for sponsoring this episode.

Don't forget to check out Annie online and follow her on Instagram!

If you'd like to have a chat come find me on Instagram. Can't wait to connect with you.

This episode was written and produced by me and edited by Lucy Lucraft.

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!