Graphic Designer Annie Atkins Writes New Book: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking

Five years ago, The Grand Budapest Hotel was released, and almost immediately, enthusiastic design lovers began to wonder the same thing: who made all of those marvelous graphics? Shortly thereafter we were introduced to the incredibly talented film and television graphic designer, Annie Atkins, through several interviews, videos, and podcasts about the making of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and her later work on Isle of Dogs, Penny Dreadful, The Box Trolls, Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, and Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck.

“Annie Atkins is a master craftswoman… she makes the unreal seem hyperreal and the real more supremely alive.”

After all of Annie’s success, she put her experience and expertise to good use creating an educational training workshop teaching graphic design for film and television from her studio in Dublin. Now she has taken the next logical step– she wrote a book about it. I could not be more excited.

Annie Atkins’s book is called Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking as she announced on both Twitter and Instagram today. Annie has designed the cover of the book and worked on the book for over three years. She stated on Instagram that she is, “over the moon that it’s finally out there (well, for pre-order, it won’t actually be launched until February.)” She continued, “For those of you asking what’s inside, it’s basically a different movie prop on every page and personal stories from film sets, some about the creative difficulties in making certain props and sometimes just fun memories of what it was like to work on certain shows. For now, if you do want to pre-order it, that would be super, as apparently pre-order numbers are what help nudge bookshops into buying it, and I would love to see this on a shelf!”

Annie revealed that Wes Anderson favourite, actor Jeff Goldblum, gave Annie and the book a stellar review, saying, “Annie Atkins is a master craftswoman… she makes the unreal seem hyperreal and the real more supremely alive.” The official release date for the book is February 12, 2020. You can find out more about writer and graphic designer, Annie Atkins, on her website and if you’re interested in pre-ordering the book, you’ll find more information below. We have also added the book to our best production design books list.

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Grand Budapest Hotel Graphic Props

Grand Budapest Hotel Graphic Props

Grand Budapest Hotel Graphic Props

Grand Budapest Hotel Graphic Props

Graphic props from The Grand Budapest Hotel by Annie Atkins

Pre-Order Annie Atkins Book

Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking

By: Annie Atkins
Paperback: 208 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0714879383

A behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary and meticulous design of graphic objects for film sets.

Although graphic props such as invitations, letters, tickets, and packaging are rarely seen close-up by a cinema audience, they are designed in painstaking detail. Dublin-based designer Annie Atkins invites readers into the creative process behind her intricately designed, rigorously researched, and visually stunning graphic props. These objects may be given just a fleeting moment of screen time, but their authenticity is vital and their role is crucial: to nudge both the actors on set and the audience just that much further into the fictional world of the film.

Have you pre-ordered the book yet? I’d love to know what you think of it once it’s released.

Posted by Rose Lagacé

Rose Lagacé is a production designer for film & television by day and an emerging filmmaker by night. Rose is also the creator and editor of Art Departmental where she celebrates the art and craft of production design.

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