Being Wes Anderson’s graphic designer Written by Smith

Being a graphic designer is already a pretty sweet gig. (You get to make nice-looking things for money!) But being the one Wes Anderson goes to when he needs a prop made-up for one of his films? That’s some next-level career-envy shit.

You can direct your jealous gazes towards Annie Atkins, an Irish graphic designer who worked to make all of the paper props for Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. Every telegram, newspaper, bank note, Nazi business card and prison escape map that appeared onscreen was painstakingly created by Atkins, who worked closely with Anderson to realise his vision of a Europe where life was cheap, but good typesetting highly valued.

Atkins talked about her experience working on the film at the At Here 2015 festival in London, which was recorded in the video below.

Alas, copyright constraints meant that some of the more filmy parts of her presentation had to be edited out. But if you’d like to get the full story, you’re in luck: Atkins frequently hosts weekend workshops where budding graphic designers can learn the tricks of the trade from her in person. Participants are even awarded with a (fake) diploma at the end of the course, which they have to design themselves. How perfectly twee.